


A Storm and a God

by Sugaredwings (CaffeinatedQueer)



Series: Of Mountains and Deserts [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, M/M, NaNoWriMo, No Beta, a hero’s journey, desert myth, loosely based on Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene, past asahi/suga, side bokuaka, side iwaoi, side kuroken
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2019-08-19 17:58:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 48,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16539407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaffeinatedQueer/pseuds/Sugaredwings
Summary: Tucked into a flourishing desert valley, the village of Karasuno has thrived for generations with only minor land disputes with neighboring settlements. Their good fortune could be attributed to a guardian deity, protecting them from the mountain tops.When a storm devastates the village and a war on the horizon, Karasuno calls on its reluctant hero to find the missing deity.





	1. The Calling

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is not based on real mythology.

He had done all he could do. It didn’t feel like it, but that’s what he had to keep telling himself. Crouched at the edge of Cemetery Hill, Asahi Azumane watched his village all but disappear under water. Helpless, he watched as sandstone structures shifted in the current, a few of the lesser maintained building collapsing completely. Somewhere in the distance lay his own farm. He couldn’t see it from the hill, but even if he could Asahi didn’t think he could stand to watch the monsoon sweep his life away. He doubted the sandbags were enough to preserve his home, his orchard, or his hives.

But they had done everything they could. Other villages and other generations wouldn’t have been so lucky. Asahi was lucky enough to live in the era of The Great Seer, Sugawara. At one point he was lucky enough to date the dusty haired blonde, but he wasn’t lucky enough to keep him. Maybe that was for the best, seeing as Suga’s devotion to “serving the people of Karasuno” is what warned them of this storm.

The hand clapped on his shoulder startled him out of his melancholy. “We saved what we could,” Daichi’s confident reassurance was obviously a façade, but Asahi appreciated the gesture. “We can rebuild from this. Thanks to Suga, we have plenty of supplies stored safely in the hills. We’ve been preparing for this for a year. We’re survivors, it’s what we do.”

“Still doesn’t feel good,” Asahi mumbled, sinking his face behind his knees.

“It’s not good,” voice still ringing clear as a bell, Suga stepped around Daichi. “The mountains usually take the brunt of the storm. The fact that a monsoon is hitting us full force is symptomatic of something awry with our guardian deity.” He knelt next to Asahi, causing the larger man to shy away, “we’ll survive this storm, yes, but Karasuno will be left defenseless.”

Behind them the rest of the villagers milled through the cemetery. Responsible parents kept grips on their children to keep them from being swept away. Some young adults worked diligently to ensure they’d calculated rations correctly. More free spirited individuals passed time by telling stories, distracting anyone who would listen to get their minds off their tragedy.

Suga gently bumped shoulders with Asahi. He hated it. He hated the proximity, Suga’s crisp scent mocking him from his memories.

“It would probably be good for them to see their hero standing brave.”

“I’m retired,” Asahi hid his face in his arms.

Suga shot a devious glance behind him, causing Daichi to smirk in response. On a silent count of three, the two hooked themselves under Asahi’s arms, leveraging the man from the ground.

“Hey-o!! Everyone gather around! Let’s listen to the tale of Asahi the Brave!” Daichi hollered across the hill, pretending it didn’t take all of his strength to keep the larger man from fleeing.

“Who wants to hear the story of Asahi outsmarting the wily Terushima of Johzenji?” Suga motioned for others to gather around.

Despite his embarrassment, Asahi couldn’t help but smile at the crowd his friends drew for him— especially the younger kids bouncing around his feet with eager smiles. Fighting for a spot in the front row, a teenager with a soggy mop of orange hair held just as much excitement as the nearly identical young girl he held in his arms, if not more. Hinata Shouyo’s grin never failed to push him back into Hero Mode.

“So it all started a little over a year ago. Johzenji heard we were stockpiling supplies. They didn’t care to know why desert dwellers were preparing for a flood, they just wanted a free meal. A-anyway…” He might not have Daichi’s charisma, or Sugawara’s charm, but as long as Asahi kept his focus on the younger audience he felt like he told a pretty good story.

After two miserably soggy days, the storm finally let up. The desert sun rose in all of its glory, basking the citizens of Karasuno with scorching dry heat. It took another day for the flood waters to recede enough for them to return home. It was a week before the ground dried enough to start rebuilding on sturdy foundations.

About a third of Asahi’s plum trees survived the storm. One lonely nectarine tree stood in a devastated row. His hives were demolished, but the lack of bloated bee bodies gave him hope that they escaped. The main structure of his home remained strong, the small two room building well maintained by his own two hands. The flood waters gutted the interior. He’d have to barter for some new bedding. Maybe if he ventured out and gathered the supplies, Yui would help him construct a new mattress.

Until then, he did the best he could with the supplies he had carried with him during his escape to Cemetery Hill. In his youth he’d been accustomed to sleeping on the desert floor. Now that he was breaching his 30’s, his back ached after just a few hours.

“It might feel better to be sleep deprived than sleep like this,” he mused, stretching his sides after a short night’s sleep. The first shades of sunrise were starting to creep over the eastern mountains. He couldn’t help but smile fondly at his namesake. Asahi Azumane: the morning sun that rises over the eastern peak, bringer of new days and fresh hope. A proper hero’s name, his mother had insisted. He did his best to live up to it. And he did, until he dueled Dateko in a hero’s challenge.

He tried to push that bitter defeat from his mind.

Masquerading as distant mountain tops, fresh storm clouds could be seen churning in the distance. Storm clouds weren’t uncommon, especially in monsoon season. Usually the mountains halted their progress, or at least tore them apart, causing them to spill the bulk of their storms in the evergreen forests. They usually only saw rainfall twice a year, with only an inconvenient amount of flooding. Nothing like this past storm.

Asahi eyed the growing darkness on the horizon with a healthy suspicion as he set to work reassembling his beehives.

It wasn’t until he was putting the final panel on the first hive that Asahi allowed himself a break. The sun beat down without mercy, unapologetic for it’s absence during the storm. He sat back to readjust his hair when he noticed his visitor.

Suga stood timidly at the edge of the homestead, despite of— or maybe because of— all the intimate moments shared with its keeper. His body stood oriented towards Asahi, thumbs fiddling before him, but his gaze locked onto the storm brewing in the distance.

“Suga— wara-san,” he corrected himself, remembering Suga’s role as seer.

“Azumane,” the other man granted him a soft smile, eyes still fixed on the horizon, “Suga is fine, no need to be weird about it.”

“Suga,” he cleared his throat, giving up on taming his hair and letting it fall around his face, “is there something I can help with?”

The flaxen haired seer kept his silence, eyes darting along the mountain ridge.

“Suga?” Asahi approached him with caution, not wanting to interrupt a spell of clairvoyance. He remembered when they were together, when the visions first started. It was amusing at first, young Sugawara just came across as intuitive. Their life was full of small coincidences. He could always seem to predict when Grandma Ukai would show up with something to eat. Suga saved them countless pottery pieces since he always seemed to know when they were about to fall.

Then the nightmares started.

Asahi would wake up with Sugawara trembling in his arms, hair damp with cold sweats. No matter how much he encouraged his lover to share his burden, Suga never revealed his dreams.

He would never forget Suga’s pallor when Dateko’s hero accepted Asahi’s challenge. The look of anguish on his face when he witnessed Tanaka dragging Asahi’s mangled form back into the village would haunt the former hero for the rest of his life. As soon as Asahi’s condition was stable enough to endure heartbreak, Sugawara delivered it. He insisted he’d seen the challenge in his nightmares and needed to devote his focus to the wellbeing of the village.

Nothing could convince Asahi that he wasn’t dumped for being a failure as a hero.

“Hey, is everything okay?” He placed a tentative hand on his former lover’s shoulder.

“Something’s wrong, Azumane,” the statement came out almost like a bark, as if he was afraid he couldn’t say it unless it all came out at once. “I can’t sense the guardian deity in the mountains. Normally I can stare down a storm and feel a powerful being standing in the middle ground. Now I just feel vulnerable.”

“We’re still recovering from the trauma of the last storm; it’s normal to feel vulnerable, I think,” he rubbed small reassuring circles on Suga’s shoulder, but the man was right. Even Asahi could feel something off about the clouds developing on the horizon. It felt like a predator had laid eyes on him, like he could try to run from it but he’d never escape.

“We’re having a meeting tonight in the Sawamura household. Every elder and city official is in mandatory attendance,” Suga turned his gaze to Asahi’s face. He spotted the glint in the smaller man’s eyes a second too late. “So put on your best Hero’s face and show up. Daichi will hunt you down if you don’t,” the threat was punctuated with a punch to the shoulder before Suga ran off.

The little imp.

Asahi rubbed the muscle, flinching at the soon-to-be bruise. He was getting too old for this.

In the next several hours, he managed to clean up the site of the second hive. Salvageable parts were places in organized piles. Splintered panels and shards of debris were dumped next to his firewood. Satisfied with the recovery progress, Asahi cleaned up and set out for the village center.

His own homestead was as far from the village as he could manage without invading the foothills. Strange things lived in the mountains, both friend and foe, the villagers never entered the evergreen forest lightly. He sought to take advantage of that fear, building on this land after his defeat. He considered this is retirement plot, from fallen Hero to beekeeper. He had hoped the proximity to the evergreens would allow him to live out his retirement in peace.

The Sawamura family provided the figurehead for the village. The family built a proud home in the center of the village, a large gathering place with a warm hearth and bright windows. It was a decent hike from Asahi’s plot.

The majority of Karasuno’s citizens prioritized the Sawamura home before their own, helping to clean the plot of debris and reinforce the structure. Those who were still without homes took shelter in the expansive yard in front of the home. The sick and injured were sheltered and treated within the great hall. All eyes were fixed on Asahi before he even stepped through the front gate. Their hopeful gazes filled him with shame. He heard the title “hero” echo through the crowd. It made him cringe.

Daichi and Suga greeted him at the residence entry, both obviously relieved that he’d shown up. Asahi tried to ignore how close the two stood, the pang of jealousy being a useless thing to feel. Despite their relief in seeing him and despite their obvious affections towards one another, Asahi could feel a dark mood settling over the home as they led him back to the meeting room. He took his seat at Daichi’s right hand, Suga at his left, as the room came to attention.

It was obvious that a few of the elders were growing restless, eager to demean Daichi’s authority. He was young and only recently came to power, but Sawamura Daichi was a force to be reckoned with. He refused to cower under their judgmental stares. After all, he had a power chip that no chief had boasted for generations.

“Elders, advisors, I am relieved to confirm that Sugawara’s clairvoyance has led us true. According to our inventory, we have enough supplies stored to support our people until next harvest. We should pride ourselves in our frugality and quick-wittedness in the face of unprecedented disaster,” he paused for scattered applause and affirmative grumbles. The elders couldn’t disagree when he praised them as if following Suga’s premonition was their own idea. In reality they had fought him every step of the way. A monster flood? In the desert? Absurd. They insisted he was trying to rob them of their retirement and comfort.

“Unfortunately, we are not safe yet. Scouts confirm that Dateko was unprepared for the storm. Their wall has been reduced to rubble. Their food stores are low and waterlogged. We expect that they will send raiders within the week to try to capture what we have saved for ourselves. This is no legal dispute that can be solved with a hero’s challenge. We need to be braced for all-out war.”

  
“They’re half starved and riddled with pestilence, why should we concern ourselves with a fight? They’ll be easily thwarted,” an elder man at the middle of the table scoffed, thick eyebrows furling over his faded eyes.

“They’re tired and hungry, yes,” Suga placed a hand on Daichi’s arm in solidarity, “but that will fuel their desperation. There is nothing more reckless than desperation. There will be no decency in this war.”

They argued with the old men for what felt like hours before Daichi adjourned the meeting, planning on continuing the conversation the following night. He could feel himself getting heated. Sure, he could override the counsel’s decision, as chief he had final say, but Daichi didn’t want to resort to dictatorship. He wanted to gain the elder’s respect, despite their pigheadedness.

“Asahi, hang back.”

The taller man groaned, wanting to return to his home before dark but not able to deny a direct order from Daichi, despite their friendliness. “I’m going to have to come out of retirement, aren’t I.”

“Yes, but not in the way you’re expecting,” Suga took him by the arm, leading the trio back to Daichi’s private quarters.

Asahi tried not to notice Suga’s belongings strewn around the chamber. Daichi definitely noticed him not noticing.

“Suga’s home was destroyed in the flood, and it makes sense to have the seer in my home anyway, for leadership reasons, you know. It’s—“

Suga shoved the rambling man aside with a smile, “Asahi, we need your help.”

“I know I have a duty to the village, but I’m not ready to face Dateko again. I couldn’t even avenge the elder Chief Sawamura.”

“Something more fearsome than Dateko is threatening Karasuno,” Daichi interjected, jaw set in a grim expression.

“Asahi, remember the storm clouds from earlier?”

He gave Suga a quizzical nod, remembering how frail he looked against the dark clouds rolling behind the mountains.

“My visions tell me that something’s happened to the guardian deity. Normally he would have protected us from storms of this scale, tearing them apart and weakening them into something the valley could bare. This flood shouldn’t have been this devastating. A new storm is brewing beyond the mountains. If the guardian deity is not found and restored, Karasuno will be washed away,” Suga placed a steady hand on Asahi’s shoulder, “we can handle Dateko. We can’t survive another monsoon.”

Asahi shifted his weigh uneasily, “you want me to restore the guardian deity.”

“You’re our only hope, Azumane,” Daichi fixed him with a pleading but stern look, “we need to prepare for war, but it’ll be a meaningless victory if we’re wiped out by another storm.”

“Why not send Hinata? He’s young and full of energy. He can climb a mountain much faster than I can. Plus, he has Kageyama to see for him. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“Kageyama’s abilities are limited,” Suga reminded him, “so far he can only predict Hinata’s fate. He’d be no help in finding the deity. We need them here, fighting Dateko.”

“How am I supposed to—“

“Asahi,” Daichi lost his patience with the back and forth. Hadn’t they just spent several hours arguing with the elders? Why wouldn’t people just listen to him for once? “Don’t make me command you as your chief.”

“As my friend,” Asahi stepped away from the pair, backing towards the doorway, “you wouldn’t dare.” He took his leave before he lost courage, hurrying back to his farm as if there were dogs at his heels. He didn’t hear any pursuit, but he wasn’t about to take his chances.

He was able to breathe as soon as he stepped foot on his plot. A decent walk from any neighbors, Asahi felt at peace. His small cabin used to be dwarfed by the expanse of land and orchard surrounding it. The bees used to be the only sound on the wind except for the occasional jackrabbit or pursuing coyote. Every once in a while the big horned sheep would descend from the hills to steal some fruit. After a decade of conflict with Dateko, he felt entitled to this peace.

He went inside to gather his linens, carrying the armload out into the orchard. The stars set the sky ablaze. He tried to ignore the dark patch on the horizon, where threatening clouds swallowed the night sky.

-

Desert nights were freezing. Desert mornings were uncomfortable. The sun’s rays beat down, heating the Earth enough for Asahi to throw off his blankets. As soon as the blankets were tossed aside, the wind whipped away his sweat, making him shiver. After enough back and forth with the blankets, Asahi surrendered, retreating back to his cabin. Exhaustion still weighed on his limbs. He hoped he’d be able to fall back asleep once he was in bed.

The sunshine sprawled across his kitchen floor spoke otherwise, as did it’s accompanying seer.

“Asahi! You’re back!” Young Hinata launched himself from what appeared to be a temper tantrum on the floor, springing to greet Asahi at the door.

“I told you he didn’t flee the village,” Kageyama scoffed, mostly to himself.

“Hinata, Kageyama, hello,” Asahi carefully sidestepped the pair, tossing his linens into the bedroom. He winced when he heard them hit the dusty ground, but he wasn’t about to draw his visitors into his bed space.

“Asahi! I heard Sawamura gave you a special quest!”

His head was already killing him. He wanted to make some breakfast, but he knew he didn’t have enough in the house to make meals for three and he wasn’t about to be a bad host.

“That’s so cool! Someday I want to be a hero as great as you and go on special quests.”

“Ah,” Asahi laid a hand on the head of orange hair, as if it would muffle the sound, “good luck. I’m sure you’ll do great. I’m not going.”

“Wait, why not?” Both boys looked up at him in shock.

Asahi cringed at the memory his last quest. He remembered standing tall next to Sawamura the elder, the chief smiling at him with confidence, with pride. Age had just started crinkling the corners of his eyes, his hair turning salt and pepper. They had been confident. It was pure hubris.

Never again.

“I’m not a hero anymore. I’m retired.”

“No way,” Hinata refused to be refused, “you’re the best hero there is! For all of my life I’ve been jealous of you. Right now I’m still not tall enough or strong enough to go on quests alone, but you can. Sawamura depends on you for the most important stuff, he never lets me do anything on my own.”

“Listen, Hinata… in our last conflict with Dateko, I—“

“I know, you failed. But you’ve had way more successes than failures. You still pulled through and brought the survivors home, even if we lost the land. That’s why everybody calls you the hero.”

“But Sawamura the elder—“

“Sawamura the elder made his choice,” Kageyama spoke up. “He chose to stay and fight for control of the Spring Hills. He chose the Spring Hills over the lives of the people serving them— over his own life. When he passed power onto you, you immediately risked your life to get everyone home safe. That makes you a hero.”

“Kageyama!” Hinata squawked, battering his palms over the taller boy’s face, “don’t disrespect Sawamura the elder!”

Asahi shared a meaningful look with the young seer, “your parents would be proud of you, Tobio.”

“I know,” he pushed away Hinata’s hand, turning to hide his expression.

“Kageyama, Hinata!” The three jumped as a silver-haired seer burst through the front door.

“Suga, what’s wrong,” Asahi rushed to catch the heaving man.

He winced, head obviously aching from exertion, “they’re coming. Dateko is just a few hours away. Daichi needs you two at town center. Asahi, you need to go.”

“On it!” Hinata grabbed Kageyama by the arm, half dragging the boy out the door with him.

“Here, drink,” Asahi fretted over Suga’s disheveled state, forcing a cup of water into his hands. “If they’re here already, I should stay. I can fight, chase them off, and then Hinata and I can find the guardian deity together.”

“Asahi,” Suga made sure to catch his breath first, focusing on the taller man with full seriousness, “if you stay, you’ll die. If you stay, we’ll all die. I’ve seen it. Aone’s here for you specifically. The best thing you can do for us right now is to run. Run from here and find the guardian deity. Only he can stop the storm. He can probably protect us from Dateko as well.”

“Koushi—“

“Azumane, please.”

He took a deep breath through his nose, exhaling with a sigh. “Okay, I’ll get packed. Don’t let Aone knock down my beehives, I just rebuilt them. Hopefully the bees will return before I do.”

Suga huffed a laugh. Rocking onto tiptoe, he planted a single gentle kiss on Asahi’s cheek, “Godspeed, I’ll take care of things here.”

With rations being tight as it were, Asahi didn’t have much to pack before he was leaving his cabin behind. The rows of devastated orchard between himself and the foothills looked like they stretched forever, but he passed through them too fast. At the edge of his plot stood a rock face. A narrow canyon led up into the mountains. Suga had assured him that if he started on this path, the rest would reveal itself to him and his intuition had never been wrong.

That didn’t stop him from hesitating, glancing behind him before squeezing through the rock face. He could still see Suga fretting over the swollen door not fitting into its jam in his attempt to leave. A good full body slam got it to close.

Together, they turned, leaving that place to face their destinies.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Living in the desert, I can always see storm clouds just on the other side of the mountains, yet it never rains. It feels like the mountains are protecting us, guarding us from storms that would otherwise wipe us out. I wanted to write that feeling into a myth.
> 
> Unfortunately, the myths of our native people (the Southern Paiute) have been distorted by early Mormon missionaries. I don’t know if they ever felt the same gratitude towards the mountains that protect our valley from monsoons.


	2. The First Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asahi faces his first set of challenges in the Evergreen Forest.
> 
> Daichi attempts to negotiate peace with Dateko.

In the span of twenty steps, the world turned from dusty red to ever green. The sudden change almost made Asahi turn back. It was as if he’d stepped through a faerie door. He worried that the way home had closed behind him. He also knew that if he looked back now he’d lose his resolve. The hero steeled himself and continued forward.

Warnings about the Evergreen Forest had been passed down for generations. The lush mountains were tempting, especially in the scorching summer months. Snow could be seen crowning the tops in the winter. Cloaked in green, the mountain promised bountiful life just beyond their challenging desert plains. Early generations had tried to tame the mountain, to make it a utopia, but every attempt ended in tragedy.

Untold dangers lurked beyond the trees. Asahi felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. He gripped his bow in one hand, hoping he was imagining things. He could feel eyes on him. The stories warned of monstrous beasts, faerie folk, and storms so sudden and so intense that it felt as if the mountain itself were against you.

He leapt as the brush behind him fell. Asahi wheeled, arrow pulled from the quiver on his belt and sloppily notched. The small herd of mule deer looked just as stunned to see him as he was to see them— wide eyes and oversized ears fixed on him just as surely as his arrow fixed on them. Asahi sighed in relief, lowering his weapon. The movement sent the deer fleeing.

“Not much of a hunter, huh?” The voice came from above. Peering through the pine boughs, Asahi spotted a mischievous grin laughing at him. As his eyes focused, the rest of the man started taking shape. Sharp golden eyes, a mess of dark hair, and long toned limbs came into focus as the stranger slinked his way down the tree.

Asahi stepped away, trying to remember every rule he knew about dealing with fae. His mind went blank.

The man strode towards him, hands tucked into the pockets of his linen pants. He studied Asahi from a few paces away. “It’s been a long time since anyone’s dared to wander into the mountains to hunt. We drive prey out into the plains, you leave us alone, isn’t that the deal our forefathers made?”

“I don’t— I’m not—“ Asahi floundered. Was there a rule about answering questions? Was he allowed to look the man in the eye?

“Okay, okay, I don’t care about what you’re not. What are you? Who are you and why have you intruded on our mountain with your weapon raised?”

He took a deep breath to compose himself, “I am Asahi, hero of Karasuno. I am here to restore the guardian deity.”

The stranger’s face fell from cocky to surprised, quickly recovering to coy, “ah, Asahi, hero of Karasuno, it’s a pleasure. Kuroo, of the Toohoo’o, Nekoma tribe. Welcome to the Evergreens, hero.” Kuroo plucked a piece of juniper from an overgrown bush, offering it to Asahi.

He accepted the offer with a bow, “thank you for your warm welcome.”

“You’re supposed to eat it,” the man deadpanned.

“Oh! Uhh…” Asahi tentatively opened his mouth before Kuroo burst out laughing.

“Oh man, you’d be so dead if you actually came across a real faerie!”

Asahi felt his face burn red as he shut his mouth, pocketing the juniper. It wasn’t like he gave his full name or anything.

“Don’t be like that,” Kuroo patted his shoulder reassuringly, “here, come with me. My friends and I will set you up. What’s a hero without sidekicks, yeah?”

He knew that following strangers into the woods probably wasn’t the best choice, but right now it was the only lead he had. Suga had assured him that the way would make itself known to him and so far this was the closest thing he had to a direction. He tried to keep up as the man wove his way through the trees.

Through the winding path and the crowded growth, the only evidence Asahi had that they were moving uphill was the burning in his legs. The chilled mountain air bit at his throat as he struggled to keep the cat-like man in sight. He could see the occasional flash of golden eyes through the darkness letting him know Kuroo made sure he was still keeping pace. He couldn’t help but feel as if he was being tested.

He thought his lungs were about to burn out when the welcoming smell of campfire hit his nose. He could see the light bleeding through the thin trees. To his relief, Kuroo led him right to it. The campfire lit the clearing with a welcoming glow. Two more wide pairs of golden eyes turned on him, pinning the man to the edge of the underbrush.

“Relax, I brought him here,” Kuroo dropped into the campsite, slinging his arms over his companions. The two couldn’t be more different. One man stood almost as tall as Kuroo, but he far out-muscled him. He looked too wise to be a simple thug, despite the bulging biceps. The third man barely reached Kuroo’s shoulder, limbs equally petite. His hair resembled a storm cloud, jet black with a shock of blonde falling on his forehead. Asahi got the feeling that if he blinked, the smaller man would have enough time to run around him and attack from behind. Together they made an intimidating and well-balanced party.

The larger man bounded up to him, shaking his hand before Asahi could even offer it, “hey hey hey, welcome! Bokuto, Moohoo’o, Fukurodani, nice to meet you.”

He felt like some part of that sentence was supposed to be the man’s name, but he wasn’t sure what part, “Asahi, hero of Karasuno. I’m sure the pleasure is mine.”

The smaller man gave Kuroo a withering look, “where did you find him?”

“In the woods, I swear! I found him fair and square.”

With a sigh, he made his way towards Asahi, “Bokuto, don’t hog him.” He playfully nudged the larger man out of the way, offering his hand, “just call me Noya.” The smaller man’s smile hit Asahi like the April sun: warm, familiar, and much missed after a long dark winter.

“Nice to meet you, Noya,” he couldn’t help but smile in return.

“See, he’s a perfectly good hero: tall, broad, polite. A little naïve, though, so I brought him here,” Kuroo almost sounded like he was bragging.

“You did come here on your own accord, right? Kuroo didn’t have to drag you into the mountains kicking and screaming?” Noya peered up at him curiously.

“I mean, my friends kind of pressured me to come here, but yes, I came willingly,” he shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Are you really willing to lay down your life for your quest?”

“Yes. If it’s for the well being of Karasuno, I’d die.”

“Ah, what a hero!” Bokuto swooned as he looped an arm across Asahi’s shoulders. “Welcome to our ragtag gang. I hope you’re ready for trouble.”

Kuroo laughed, moving to throw another log into the fire, “Come on, have a nap while we get dinner ready. Our training montage can begin at midnight.”

Asahi peered through the tree canopy. His exhaustion and rumbling stomach hit him as soon as he processed how dark it was getting. He’d spent the day tromping through the forest and chasing strange men. It felt like a day wasted when he knew Dateko had surely descended on his village by now. He could only hope Suga had given them enough warning.

They might have been strangers, but Asahi was thankful to have someone watching over him while he rested. Kuroo ducked back into the forest to continue the hunt Asahi had interrupted.

Bokuto watched the trees for a thought before grinning at Noya, “stay here and keep an eye on this softie. I’m hungry and Kuroo’ll catch something faster if I scout for him.”

“Tell him no more antelope for a while, alright? The herd is getting a little thin.”

“Got it!” Bokuto whooped as he jumped for the trees, form disappearing in a flurry of feathers.

“They’re bursting with energy, aren’t they?” Asahi laughed nervously, not entirely sure how to interact with this strange man in this strange place with its strange rules.

“Ah man, usually I’d be able to go with them though,” he flopped on the dusty ground. “Bokuto and Kuroo are the funnest to run with.”

“Oh, sorry. I don’t need a baby sitter if you wanted to catch up with them?”

“Nah, it’s not you,” Noya sat up with a laugh, motioning for Asahi to join him by the fire. “I’m still recovering from a little injury. I was the one holding them back; they’re probably relieved they found you. You’re MY babysitter.”

Asahi laid down his belongings and took a seat next to the man. In the firelight he could see the yellowing bruises littering his limbs. Fresh pink scar tissue started at his jaw. Like a jagged lightning bolt, it branched across his neck, disappearing under the collar of his shirt. Fractals of the scar still ached a swollen purple.

He knew it would be good to know what kind of danger led to that kind of injury— it looked supernatural, he’d never seen anything like it— but he could tell the man wasn’t about to reveal that story to a stranger. Asahi was all too familiar with the shame of defeat.

“So, uh, did Bokuto just turn into a bird?”

“Yeah,” Noya grinned up at him. “He’s Moohoo’o, an owl spirit. He can appear as a man or a great horned owl. And Kuroo’s Toohoo’o. Specifically he’s Kakwe Toohoo’o, a mountain lion.”

“So they’re not fae?”

“Definitely not. I think it would kill them to be that polite.”

“So it’s safe to eat whatever they bring back.”

“I don’t know about that, it isn’t like any of us know how to cook. Humans can’t eat raw meat, right?”

“And you can?”

“Oh, I’m… I’m nothing, really… anymore. So I can eat pretty much anything!” Noya emphasized his point with a pat to the stomach, flinching when he hit a hidden bruise. “You should probably get some sleep while they hunt. They’re nocturnal, so they’ll be able to teach you best at night.”

Asahi nodded, standing and retrieving his pack. He unrolled a single blanket from the bag, laying it near the fire.

“Oh that’s sad,” Noya rose and made his way over to the company’s pile of supplies. He pulled out a plush bedroll made of leather and stuffed with wool. “You might be a bit big for it, but at least it’ll pad your back a bit. Humans are fragile; you have to take care of yourself.”

“Thank you,” Asahi smiled, eagerly accepting the bedroll. It’d been weeks since he’d slept on anything softer than the loose dirt of the orchard. Sleep claimed him the instant his spine settled against the padding. He could almost imagine Noya’s laughter as he drifted off, the ghost of fingertips brushing the hair from his face.

-

Sugawara Koushi was not a true Karasuno native, no. He wandered into the village at a tender age, just losing the roundness of childhood, with no memory of where he came from. In his arms he carried an injured Kageyama, barely a toddler. A merchant passing through carried them to the Sawamura household.

The elders demanded the children be turned away. A strange looking silver haired child wandering in from the mountains? Has to be something supernatural, not to be trusted. The injured babe in his arms? Most likely his most recent victim stolen from another village. They insisted that both were bad omens to be cast out.

Chief Sawamura the elder took pity on the crying children. After all, they weren’t any older than his own son. He sent them to live with one of Daichi’s retired nannies at the edge of town. Daichi originally started hanging around out of jealousy— she was HIS nanny— but they became fast friends.

Through a sense of debt and friendship, Sugawara Koushi was willing to die for this village. Though that didn’t mean he necessarily wanted to. Nerves and raw sunlight sent sweat pouring down his skin.

Daichi was pretty good at pretending he had a lion’s heart. Suga could practically taste the anxiety wafting off of him, but he looked brave standing at the west entrance of the valley. Suga and Tanaka stood on either side of him as a show of force. A strong chief and his two top men standing against an army.

Daichi had hoped to negotiate, to give them a ration of the village’s supplies and have them leave in peace. Suga had warned him that his success was unlikely, but he wouldn’t hear it. Daichi wanted every chance at a peaceful resolution. He had dealt with Chief Moniwa before, he knew he could be a reasonable man when his advisors weren’t pressuring him to be a monger.

When the army came into view, Moniwa was nowhere to be seen. Daichi’s eyes immediately locked on another familiar face, cocky grin mocking him.

“Was Moniwa too chicken to come himself?” Tanaka clicked his tongue, “what’s Futakuchi doing here?”

The tall lanky man sat on horseback, flanked by the hero Aone and a new strong arm Daichi was sure he’d seen before, but couldn’t recall a name or title. Futakuchi raised an arm. His army stopped behind him, allowing the three to ride onwards to negotiate.

It felt like ages before they came close enough to talk. Suga’s back started to ache from standing at attention for so long. Sweat stuck his shirt to his skin. He felt disgusting and not intimidating at all. He couldn’t imagine that Daichi was faring much better, but they had to pretend otherwise.

Daichi wished they had brought horses. The west entrance wasn’t far, but he didn’t appreciate how much the imposing men loomed over them.

“Futakuchi! Welcome! To what do we owe the pleasure?” Daichi’s grin doubled as a snarl, despite his cheerful tone.

“Sawamura, please, it’s Chief Futakuchi now,” he leaned forward, bracing his arms against the horse’s neck casually. “Moniwa was forced to step down after the disaster of a flood. We need strong leadership if we hope to recover, someone who’s willing to do what it takes for Dateko to thrive.”

“And I take it you’re that someone,” Suga stepped forward with a tight smile, “just some advice, when you talk down to someone from horseback, all they can see if your double chin. It’s very unflattering.”

His friends turned to him in surprise and terror. To their amazement, Futakuchi laughed, dismounting to approach Suga on foot.

“You, you’re ballsy. Are you the new hero? I don’t see that big hairy guy with you, did Aone actually kill him?”

Daichi grit his teeth. He hadn’t thought he’d have to explain Asahi’s absence. It might be better for them to think the man was dead than lying in wait somewhere in the village. If and when Asahi returned, the element of surprise might be favorable.

Luckily, clairvoyant Suga was always a step ahead. “Asahi was so ashamed of his defeat that he wandered into the Evergreen Forest on our East border. No one has heard from him since.”

His heart shouldn’t be skipping like this. Daichi observed Suga with a raised brow, feeling ever so lucky to have the man by his side. A partial truth would be much easier to maintain than a lie.

“So does that make you a target or a war spoil?” Futakuchi reached out to incline Suga’s chin. The man slapped the hand away, smile never wavering.

“You wouldn’t want me as either, I assure you. So let’s negotiate a way for both of our tribes to survive this famine.”

“Yes, let’s negotiate,” Daichi’s hand fell a little harder and gripped a little tighter on Futakuchi’s shoulder than what was actually needed. The imposing guards flinched, but remained at attention.

“Lead the way,” Futakuchi motioned, climbing back onto his horse. “And cutie, if you wanted a ride back there’s room on mine,” he patted the space in front of him with a smirk. Suga could only roll his eyes in response before turning with his company, drawing the enemy into their village.

No one had been exceptionally comfortable with letting the leaders of Dateko into the town hall, but it was as much a show of friendship as it was of force. They’d treat the chief as a friend, showing him the benefits of their friendship and hoping to spark a fondness, a sense of empathy and camaraderie. It would have worked on Moniwa.

Futakuchi was a different beast. Flattery might get them somewhere. More than anything, they needed to show how stable and strong Karasuno was. Dateko had to be hungry and suffering, weak from famine and travel. The sick, injured and homeless had been moved to Asahi’s home (Suga hoped he’d never find out, but the space was safe and unoccupied…), leaving only the Sawamura family and heads of the village in the building. If they showed only the perfect façade of Karasuno, a well-rested, well-fed tribe, then hopefully Futakuchi would settle for negotiations instead of subjecting his ragged army to war with a strong village.

Daichi could see Futakuchi glancing around the grounds, looking for any sort of clue that could lead to a weakness. Tanaka tensed next to him, ready to pounce if any of the Dateko officials stepped out of place.

“Dinner should be ready shortly. These men will lead you to your rooms to wash up, I’m sure it was a difficult journey,” Daichi handed them off to two of his trusted guards masquerading as servants in this ruse. Tanaka stayed to keep watch on the hall while Suga pulled Daichi back to his private chambers.

“You’re going to give yourself a heart attack before the fighting even starts,” he fused, pulling fresh clothes from Daichi’s wardrobe.  
  
“Thank you for standing by me back there. And please, don’t be so reckless.”

“I’m a seer, I’m never reckless,” Suga held a hand to his chest in fake offense. “How dare you accuse me as such?”

Daichi rolled his eyes as he shrugged off his soiled shirt, mopping the sweat from his body with a scented cloth. “Will you sit by me for dinner as well?”

“I’ll be right on the other side of Yui, witty remarks at ready.”

“Just don’t piss them off,” he couldn’t help but sigh, pulling on the new shirt.

“They want war regardless. I plan on keeping them in their place regardless. We can’t let them walk all over us, thinking we’re weak.”

“Sug, tonight they are our guests and we will be gracious hosts—“

“And that’s why your wife is sitting at your left hand instead of down the table with her friends, to show how perfectly put together and powerful we are, I know, I know,” he threw a clean pair of trousers on the bed and made for the door.

“Sugawara!”

“I have to go get ready, make myself look nice. You plan on bragging about having a powerful seer, right? Not to mention, Futakuchi seems interested. Maybe I can use that in our favor.”

Daichi winced when he slammed the door behind him. He knew they were a mess, but now wasn’t the time to be figuring out his love life. They had much more pressing matters to worry about. He hoped Suga would keep that in mind.

The fair man in question only had to cross the hall to get to his room. It was a sparse room of reasonable size. Suga had his own home out on the outskirts of town, but it was destroyed by the flood. He didn’t have a sturdy family plot, nor did he have any family to turn to, so he had to rely on the Sawamura family to take him in. He hadn’t asked to be housed in the mistress suite, but Daichi was insistent he take it. He didn’t plan on taking any mistresses, so the big room was being wasted anyway.

It wasn’t long until the rumors started spreading. Suga, viewed as an exotic possession, a pretty seer of unknown heritage, made for perfect mistress material. Sure, he and Daichi had been friends for many years, and the man had the most impressive thighs Suga had ever seen, but they were both dedicated to the cause of the village. It was why he had left Asahi and it felt wrong to go back on his word now.

But he felt so powerful at Daichi’s side. He felt like they were powerful together as a team. And he was having trouble ignoring those broad shoulders and the bulk of his arms…

But the man was married— no matter how platonically— to Yui, who was a sweetheart. And Suga was his seer, married to the fate of the village. He was not about to stoop to being property— a mistress, an exotic item to be owned.

Suga ripped off the day’s sweaty travel clothes in frustration, scrubbing his skin with a damp scented rag. He dug through the wardrobe, going through things left by Daichi’s father’s mistress, until he found some jewelery that suited him. He hadn’t saved any formal wear from the flood, it didn’t seem like a priority at the time, so he dug through her abandoned garments as well. He found a beaded dress about his size, but the skirt was ruined with mud and mildew. He found the seam the ripped it, resulting in a rather handsome bodice. He tucked it into the nicest pants he had to hide the frayed tear. Hopefully no one would notice his lower half when they were all seated at the table.

When he left his room, Daichi was in the hall waiting.

“Are you expecting us to walk in together?” Suga’s accusatory voice made him jump.

“I— I thought it would be nice, yes. Entering with my top advisor, showing how openly we communicate as a united front?”

“We’d be entering as equals, it demeans you as a leader.”

“Suga, I don’t—“

“Let me enter first and take a seat. You enter very last, so that we can all rise to greet you. It’ll show them that you’re a powerful leader who is respected by his people.”

Daichi couldn’t find space to argue when Suga stared him down like that. He had grown up with mild-mannered Asahi as a friend. Encountering Suga in his early teen years had left young, bratty Daichi reeling. The man kept him humble.

On the other end of the building, two troublemakers snuck around the enemy’s windows.

“Hey stupid, keep you head down! Your hair’s gonna give us away.”

“How about you keep your voice down?” Hinata struggled to get Kageyama’s hand off of his head.

The taller boy huffed, releasing his grip, “I’m gonna check the stables to see if I can learn anything from their horses. Don’t follow me, you’ll just scare them.”

“Hey!” Hinata protested, but obeyed. He never believed that Kageyama could actually talk to animals, he was pretty sure it was just an excuse. Especially since every time he called in an animal to settle an argument, the animal always took his side. Hinata suspected foul play, but he didn’t know why Kageyama was so insistent on pretending, so he let it slide.

Instead the petite redhead trudged back to the sage garden behind the house. Most of the sage bushes had been torn up in the storm, but a few dedicated gardeners were working to bring new ones in. Hinata slumped on a bench, watching as a tall man gently patted a hole in the ground before lowering a new set of roots into the opening.

The pretty yellow flowers bobbed in the breeze, speaking of hope and resilience in this harsh climate. Hinata hoped the flowers would live a long time before any more natural disasters wiped out the valley. He hoped the same for himself.

That hoped was dashed when the gardener stood, turning to reach for a nearby shovel. He spotted Hinata lounging behind him, eyes locking on him like a hawk spotting a mouse.

“Y-y-y-y-y-“ Hinata shuttered, slowly rising from his reclined position. His body wouldn’t let him stand. His legs were too jelly too run. “You’re Aone.”

To his surprise, the man merely tilted his head to one side in question.

“I-I-I might look small, but I can take you! Don’t try me! Wait why are you planting flowers in Sawamura’s garden?”

Aone shrugged and turned back to the plant, “I saw them from my window. The roots would die if they weren’t put in soil soon.”

“But aren’t you here to destroy us? Dateko’s just gonna destroy them.”

The larger man shifted uncomfortably, but didn’t answer. Hinata’s nerves gave way to curiosity as he approached the giant.

He’d heard stories of the Dateko hero. This was the man who almost killed Asahi. Hinata remembered Asahi’s mangled form as he was brought back to the village. The man who terrified Asahi to his core stood before him, planting sage bushes in the enemy’s garden.

Upon closer inspection, Hinata realized that Aone wasn’t much older than him. He was tall and broad, sure, but his face gave him away as a teenage like himself. He tried to imagine what he had been like a few years ago, forced to duel a fully matured Asahi, a hero at his peak.

The Dateko boy must have been terrified and desperate, Hinata realized. He hadn’t noticed how long he’d spent staring at the other boy’s face until a voice rang out, making them both jump.

“Aone! Where’d you go! We’re gonna be late for supper,” the voice was moving closer.

When the hero turned back, the little redhead was long gone. He made a mental note to look out for that one before heading inside.

He wasn’t comfortable with this— any of this. The Karasuno chief seemed nice enough, Aone believed he honestly wanted to help. The bed he’d been given was the most comfortable surface he’d encountered in weeks. Just now he’d chatted with a boy who looked at him like he was human, not some sort of killing machine.

His hands still stung from planting sage bushes he’d have to burn later.

Aone’s only hope was that the chief somehow convinced Futakuchi to negotiate. After generations of conflict, Futakuchi was convinced that this was their divine chance to finally eliminate Karasuno for good. He had no intentions of negotiations, he was just after a good meal and a full night’s rest before the fighting started.

Futakuchi, Aone, and Obara entered the dining hall before the Karasuno leaders, finding the attending populace already seated. They were lead to chairs near the head of the table. Aone had never experienced a more cushioned seat in his life; he never wanted to leave.

Letting his gaze venture across the room, his eyes locked onto a familiar set of honey brown. The red headed boy looked ready to scream. He knew Aone would be attending this dinner, why did he look so surprised? Weird kid.

The redhead was elbowed by a taller boy sitting next to him, “calm down!” He hissed through his teeth as if Aone couldn’t hear him.

Maybe he was wrong about this kid seeing his humanity. It stung more than he thought it would.

A curtain was pulled from a doorway as three more people filed in: the silver haired guy and the buzz cut punk from before, as well as a sturdy short-haired woman. They took their seats at the head of the table. The punk threw a playful arm around the red headed kid, shaking off his nerves. The silver haired man sat on the other side of Futakuchi with a coy smile. The woman sat next to him until the only seat left empty was the chief’s.

He could feel Futakuchi eyeing the seating placements with a smirk. “So what kind of chief brings his mistress to meet an army?”

Sugawara’s tight lipped smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Don’t sound so heartbroken, I’m delightfully single. My name is Sugawara.”

The imposing chief laugh, patting Suga’s thigh playfully. “Good to know. And I guess that makes you the hero,” he pointed at Tanaka, “must be some hero if Aone didn’t lock on to you at first sight.”

“Hey, what’re you tryin’a say?!”

The boy’s eyes drifted back to the redhead. His gut was telling him that this kid was the number one target, the true hero, but he also felt the need to keep that a secret. He knew there must be something special about the kid and maybe he should worry, but he wasn’t about to out him to Futakuchi.

“Our Aone here has a special talent. He goes into ‘lock on’ mode whenever he spots a hero. He can pick the biggest threat out of a crowd and they’ll never be able to shake him off.”

The kid met his gaze. He didn’t quiver in fear anymore, but his eyes widened when he caught Aone studying him. The larger boy tried to give him a reassuring nod, ‘I’ll keep your secret.’ To his surprise, the redhead blushed furiously.

The exchange didn’t go unnoticed by the boy accompanying him. He scowled, “are you trying to pick a fight with Hinata?”

“Kageyama shut up,” Hinata mumbled, trying to hide his face.

Aone shook his head vigorously. He wasn’t planning on giving away Hinata’s stance, but this kid was toeing a dangerous line by calling him out like that.

The curtain was pulled back again. The people of Karasuno were on their feet in an instant. Aone panicked, rising with them, despite Futakuchi tugging on his arm. Obara shrugged and joined him. With a sigh, Futakuchi stood as well, not wanting to look like the only asshole left sitting.

Sawamura Daichi didn’t make a grand entrance, it wasn’t really his style. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself besides walk in and take a seat. He tried his best to puff out his chest and look confident though.

It helped when Suga gave him an encouraging smile. He had been right, of course, Daichi felt a lot more powerful entering last with everyone standing to greet him. His chest ached to realize how much he needed the man by his side. His stomach flipped when he noticed how close Futakuchi had inched closer to him.

Daichi tried not to let jealousy tamper with his welcoming smile as he motioned everyone to sit with him.

There was some sparse pleasant conversation over soup. Dinner was served with steaming rice, a fragrant curry, and tender goat meat. The Dateko guests tried to hide how badly they wanted to gorge themselves on the meal. They hadn’t seen decent hot food in weeks.

Not that Karasuno was doing much better, they hadn’t let themselves indulge. Everything was carefully rationed, but this was deemed a necessary show of force.

Aone couldn’t hold back a smile when the over-eager Hinata came up with rice stuck to his cheek. He motioned for the young hero to wipe it off. Red burning his ears, Hinata plucked the grain off his face and popped it in his mouth, taking time to eat more carefully.

The main course was over too quickly for Aone’s nerves. Soon all unnecessary personnel were dismissed, leaving just Dateko, Sugawara, Sawamura, the punk (Tanaka, he had heard), Hinata, and his dark haired friend (Kageyama. Hinata had whined it enough).

Coffee and cakes were served. Sawamura cleared his throat. “Chief Futakuchi, how many are your people?”

“That’s kind of a dangerous question to ask someone on the verge of war, isn’t it? Trying to size us up, Sawamura?”

“No, I’m trying to determine how to divide our livestock and grain so that our people can live in peace. I doubt any nation would rather experience war and famine together, the famine has been hard enough on its own.”

“This is about more than food, Karasuno,” Futakuchi growled, “how did your people thrive through the storm? We lost so many lives, so much of our village was swept away by the floods, yet yours still stands. Did you even lose a life?”

Aone swallowed thickly, remembering the bloated bodies of friends and neighbors. Every time they tried to rebuild their homes, the ground sunk and shifted, bringing it all to the ground. Compared to home, Karasuno was a utopia.

“We want your food, yes, but we also want your land. Obviously it’s better protected, sturdier ground than when we have, or you would have been washed away too.”

“Actually,” Daichi struggled to keep his tone even and friendly, “we had warning prior to the storm. We were able to prepare for it. We have a powerful seer in our court. We can extend his warnings to friends of the Karasuno people. If we were to go to war, if you were to conquer our lands, you would be destroying the very thing that made them safe.”

“If your seer is as great as you claim he is, then you already know my answer.”

Aone shot Hinata a pleading look. The boy was already giving him a panicked wide-eyed stare. ‘Please say something, please make them stop.’ Both held their tongues as Dateko stood, marching out of the hall. They released their horses from the stable and galloped back to their encampment.

“Shoulda poisoned them when you had the chance, Daichi,” Tanaka tsked.

“You did your best,” Suga reached over to rub Daichi’s tense shoulders. “It was worth trying.”

“Suga, can you just… leave me.”

Well that stung.

Suga tried not to let his annoyance show as he pushed away from the table, trudging back to his room. It wasn’t his fault he could see the future. Don’t shoot the messenger. He wasn’t the one who decided to waste three day’s rations on impressing the enemy. Heck, he’d even swallowed his pride and FLIRTED with the man.

The negative thoughts continued to snowball in his head as he simmered in Daichi-induced rage.

The chilled night air felt especially lonely.

He found himself wishing he could turn to Asahi, some familiar comfort. What he wouldn’t give to fall asleep wrapped up in someone strong and warm. Instead he just let himself shiver until he was too exhausted to stay awake.

-

“Lesson one on surviving the Evergreens: Don’t. Accept. Food. From. Strangers.” Kuroo punctuated by pointing a bone at Asahi.

“But I just accepted food from you,” the human mused, holding his slab of deer over the fire to cook.

“We’re not strange,”Bokuto reasoned between bites of ground squirrel. The crunching of bones made Asahi’s skin crawl. The owl spit the offending bone over his shoulder, oblivious to Asahi’s discomfort.

Noya laughed when he caught the flash of disgust on his face. “Told ya they’re not polite enough to be fae.”

“Also, be careful who you thank. If you admit you owe someone a debt, they might try to take advantage of it. That applies to everyone from fae to rats.”

“Especially rats!”

“Don’t tell anyone your full name. Uhhh… let’s see…” Kuroo tapped a finger to his forehead. “There are others, I think. I’ll have to ask Akaashi. Toohoo’o don’t deal much with fae. Everyone just kind of runs from us,” he laughed. “Bokuto, got anything to add?”

“Uhh… don’t fall in love with Akaashi or I’ll eat you.”

“Good, good, sage advice everyone,” Noya applauded, “So Asahi, what exactly is this quest of yours?”

“I’m supposed to find Karasuno’s guardian deity— or at least find out what happened to him— and restore him to power.”

“That’s it? That’s all the direction you have? Do you even know what this guy looks like or where he’s supposed to be?”

Asahi felt his face burning. He told Suga he didn’t have enough information and now he was a laughing stock. “No, no I don’t know. But I imagine he’s big, strong, and somewhere near the heart of the mountains. He’s always protected us from storms, destroying the clouds before they reach the valley.”

“Guy doesn’t have to be big to be strong,” Noya mumbled. “What’re you gonna do if he’s dead? Are you willing to take his place?”

“I don’t know, can a human become a guardian?” Asahi started panicking, though he tried to hide it. He didn’t like the idea of spending the rest of his life battling storms at the top of the mountain. Sure he said he would die for Karasuno, but this was another level of commitment. Suddenly his given name hung around his neck like a bad omen.

“Anyone who bares the mantle wields the power, I believe the legend goes,” Kuroo finished off the last of his deer, piling the bones neatly to one side. “I don’t know, Noya’s the expert.”

“Really? You know a lot about the deity? Cause I could really use some help.”

Noya bit his lip in an attempt to resist Asahi’s dewy brown pleading eyes, “I’m injured.”

“Yeah, Noya! You need help getting back up the mountains!” Bokuto’s eyes were absolutely shining with excitement. “Asahi’s big and strong. He can probably just carry you the whole way.”

The smaller man shifted uncomfortably under the three men’s gazes, “I don’t really want to go back there.”

“Oh come on, Noya!” Kuroo groaned, “stop throwing yourself a pity party and help the guy out. Even if all you do is help him find the mantle.”

“I promise I can take care of myself. I can protect you too. I just need a guide to get there,” Asahi took one of Noya’s hands, begging him. Noya decided he hated how small and fragile his hand felt in the human’s.

“And then you can be free to do what you want, Noya. Oh! You can come live with me and Akaashi!”

That sparked an idea behind Noya’s eyes. “Asahi, I’ll help you on one condition. After I help you find a guardian deity, you have to help me find my prince. He’s the only family I have left. We’re the last of our people.”

Asahi sighed. He was really looking forward to re-erecting his remaining hives and pruning the orchard. If he added another quest to the tail of this one, he might not have them ready by next season. He’d just have to work fast, “deal.”

Noya spit in his hand and held it out. Asahi winced, glancing at Kuroo and Bokuto with a desperate ‘do I have to’ written on his face.

“You don’t want to offend a spirit, do you?” Kuroo laughed behind his hand.

“Yeah, Noya’s the last spirit you’d wanna offend,” Bokuto’s eyes were watering from surprised laughter, finally spilling over when Asahi spit in his own hand and accepted the shake.

“Now we’re honor bound,” Noya grinned up at him. Despite the slime drying on his palm, something about that smile filled Asahi with warmth.

“Okay, great, that’s settled,” Kuroo yawned with a long, catlike stretch, “now if you’ll excuse us, the sun’s coming up and we’d like to get to bed.”

“You’re not coming with us?”

“We’re goin’ back to the Caelia,” Bokuto grinned as he gathered all of their bedding into a makeshift nest, “our mates are waiting for us.”

“I don’t know what that is, but good luck,” Asahi wasn’t really in the mood to hear them moon over their mates. It was bad enough feeling lonely at home. Now that he had quite a daunting series of tasks ahead of him, romance seemed like it would never find him again.

With a sigh he grabbed his pack. Noya grabbed his too. They left the camp with brave smiles and waves, but Kuroo and Bokuto were already half asleep.

“They had a busy night,” Noya chuckled knowingly, giving Asahi a friendly nudge. “Thanks to you they were able to finally run free through the forest without worrying about babysitting me.”

“They’re nice,” Asahi rubbed the back of his neck. It was awkward to suddenly be alone with a man (spirit?) he had only met the night before, “you must be very close. How long have you been friends?”

Noya scrunched his face in thought. The expression was endearing. ‘Oh God, I would die for this guy, wouldn’t I.’

“I don’t remember exactly how long ago it was, but it’s kind of a funny story how we all got together. Come on, there’s an outcropping ahead. We can watch the sun rise in the valley while I tell you about it.”

He followed the nimble man up sudden incline. It became easier to climb hand-over-hand through the trees than it was to trust his legs at this angle. Noya didn’t seem to have any trouble, toned legs leaping between minute footholds. Asahi couldn’t help but wonder what line of creature the lithe being descended from. He’d seen hummingbirds flitting through his orchard; that was his closest guess.

Noya’s promise was fulfilled as they swung up onto a rock jutting forth from the mountain face. With the sun rising behind them, the mountain stayed in cool shade while colors burst to life on the desert, stretching on for miles. Asahi marveled at the contrast before him. The dirt he rested in was a fertile brown with patches of grass and wildflowers keeping it firmly on the mountain. Morning dew clung to pine needles, causing occasional droplets to land on his head. Before him lay a terrain of rock and sand, yellows and reds, for miles until the next cluster of mountains broke the landscape. It was surreal.

“I met Bokuto and Kuroo probably only… hmmmm… 16 years ago? It hasn’t been very long as far as spirits are concerned,” Noya broke the silence of the quiet mountain morning. Asahi turned to show that he had his full attention. The focus just caused Noya to flush. “Well, uh, hah… I was kind of a little drunk and very hungry, so I tried to steal their food because I was too gone to catch my own. Hahahah, they took pity on me and we’ve been friends every since.”

Asahi smiled awkwardly at the obvious lie. If Noya didn’t want to reveal the origins of their friendship, he assumed it wasn’t crucial to the mission. “So they’ve always been generous and good natured. That’s not what I ever expected from predator spirits.”

Noya’s shoulders relaxed. He hadn’t realized he’d tensed them. “Yeah, yeah they have. They’re special, that’s for sure. I wouldn’t trust any other predator out here if I were you. Or prey. You know what, don’t trust anyone unless I know them and give them the okay. You lucked out finding us first.”

“I am a grown man. I’ve been in wars. I can hold my own, you don’t have to shelter me,” but Asahi couldn’t find it in him to be offended. He knew Noya was coming from the right place and he appreciated having a friend.

“Humans can be even scarier than spirits,” Noya nodded solemnly, “we’re at least bound to our word. Humans have complete free will. You’re all wild cards. I don’t know how you even keep mates long enough to reproduce, which is amazing given your short lifespan.”

“It takes a lot of love to keep someone around,” Asahi sighed, resting his chin in his palms, “and sometimes that’s still not enough. They leave anyway.”

“Damn that sucks,” was the only response Noya could think of. “Were they pretty?”

“You know when it snows at night and it gets that smooth, shiny, crisp crust at the top? And the stars make it glitter and the moon sends a streak across it as if it were illuminating the path to your destiny?”

Noya nodded. He’d tried to follow that path before. It only lead to the moon.

“Suga’s that pretty. Clean and crisp, refreshing, but a little mischievous and enigmatic.”

“Sounds dumb,” Noya curled up, hiding his face in his knees. He looked almost childlike in the morning light. “Why’d they leave you if you loved them so much? Did they not feel the same way?” Who wouldn’t after hearing someone describe them like that. Stupid Suga.

“He said he did, but he had to dedicate himself to the well-being of Karasuno,” Asahi grimaced, remembering how casually Suga’s things were thrown around the Sawamura home, “which apparently means hooking up with the chief— who already has a wife, by the way.”

“See, that’s exactly what I mean!” Noya gestured with frustration, “humans just do what they want regardless of what they say! It’s anarchy!”

“You must really hate humans, huh.”

“W-wait, I never said that!” He pummeled Asahi’s shoulder frantically, color rising on his neck, “don’t put words in my mouth! Some times it’s a good thing. It makes humans interesting. They’re completely unpredictable.” He settled back in his seat, focus going back to the small cluster of buildings on the desert floor, “and it means that the good ones are good by choice, not by obligation. I mean, look at you. You didn’t have to go on this quest. You could have run away, saved yourself. But here you are.”

Now it was Asahi’s turn to feel heat creeping across his face. “I-“

A crash cut off his response before he could finish his thought. Both men turned just to get a face full of debris. Tree boughs cracked and crashed to the ground as the wind kicked up, threatening to throw them off the ledge.

A string of quietly spit curses from Noya made Asahi aware that this was no natural wind storm. He drew his knife from his belt, bow rendered useless in the gusts.

The wind let up as the instigator stepped through the trees, creating a path through the branches. Asahi had never seen such a beast before, though he’d heard of them. There were rumors of a cockatrice living in the fire caverns, guarding a golden fountain. This beast stood about eight feet tall, it’s body long and serpentine. The bright red comb on it’s rooster-like head stood out against the settling dust.

It hadn’t spotted them yet, but it was only a matter of time. Asahi only had moments to decide whether it was wiser to stay perfectly still or make a mad dive over the cliff-face. As soon as the beast spotted them, they’d be dead on sight.

Noya made the decision for him.

With surprising agility and strength, Asahi felt the smaller man charge him, wrapping powerful arms around his torso and leaping off the edge. There was a flurry of feathers as his world capsized, another gust of wind as the beast beat its wings. He held his breath, expecting the cockatrice to pursue.

 _Wings_ _feathers_ _branches_ _earth_ _rocks_ can’t breathe _Noya_

Asahi took what little awareness and control he had left to curl himself around the man hugging his waist. He heard the crack of undergrowth— barely registering the scrub ripping into his back— before the lights went out.

It felt like he’d passed into the afterlife and back before his lungs gasped for breath. No light shone through his eyelids, leaving him unsure as to whether he knocked himself blind or if night had already fallen, but he didn’t care to open them— he heard voices whispering nearby and he was determined to continue playing dead just in case.

“You seriously expected me to take him to the top? He couldn’t even make it a day. He’s no hero.”

“How are humans so fragile? Absolutely useless. He had no purpose being here.”

“You guys heard that he got his chief killed, right? He couldn’t even defend someone from humans. Sorry Noya, we should have guessed he was no match for monsters.”

“Yeah, he keeps crying over an ex boyfriend too. No wonder the guy left him for someone stronger.”

“Oh gez, bit of a mudslide isn’t he.”

The voices drifted further away as Asahi held his breath. His lungs screamed. It was cruel of him to deny them air when they could finally find breath again. It wasn’t long before he passed out again.

When his consciousness returned it came with gentle orange light across his face. Not blind, that’s good. All was quiet except for a few bird calls. He eased his eyes open, immediately regretting the pounding in his head. His body was even worse off as he attempted to sit up, patches crusted with blood and aching with bruises.

His legs wouldn’t move. He couldn’t feel them.

He would’ve doubted they were even still attached to his body if he didn’t sit up and see them for himself. A small dark figure laid across his lap, arms wrapped around him possessively, face down and drooling onto this thigh.

“Noya,” he whispered, experimentally wiggling his toes. Asleep, not paralyzed, that’s a plus.

‘He’s no Hero.’

‘Absolutely useless.’

The dream resounded in his head, making his headache worse. The other two voices, who he assumed belonged to Kuroo and Bokuto, were no where to be seen. His heart rate spiked as he realized he wanted to be gone before they returned. He couldn’t face that kind of shame.

Noya resembled a sack of potatoes in a lot of ways. He slept as deep and was just as easy to maneuver. Asahi carefully slid out of his grasp. The spirit made a small whine, fingers attempting to keep hold of their prey, but Asahi’s flight instinct was stronger. His body protested to standing, but he managed it. Fueled by anxiety and shame, he stalked into the forest alone.

He didn’t dare try to scale further up the mountain, instead sticking to a level path along the mountain side. He trudged until the sun was up and his adrenaline ran out. It took all of his control not to cry out as his legs let out on a rocky stretch of trail. The rocks below him were flat and slightly sun warmed. It felt as good as a bed.

He heard the tell-tale rustle in the nearby scrub followed by a threatening rattle. A rattlesnake. Great. He knew he was invading the snake’s home. Normally he could simply walk away with respect for the warning, but his muscles refused to move another inch. He just hoped it wouldn’t hurt. Maybe the venom would be a mercy as opposed to slowly bleeding out on a mountain face.

The bite never came.

“Hey friend, are you okay? This is my sunning rock and it’s almost noon, prime sunning time. Do you mind?”

The adrenaline returned. Asahi was instantly awake, but still unable to move. Above him hovered a slender dark-haired man, eyes staring wide.

“You’re… a snake spirit.”

“Oh, you’re not okay, are you? You smell like death.”

“I think I’m dying.”

“Wait here, friend,” the snake-like man moved away. Asahi could swear he still slithered, even in human form. Part of him wanted to beg the man to stay, he was scared of dying alone. He breathed a sigh of relief when he quickly returned. “Here, drink this,” the man held his head, bringing a water skin to his lips.

Logically, Asahi knew that snakes usually meant poison and that drinking something a snake offered would be a bad decision. At this point he didn’t care if this man was friend or foe, he just wanted the pain to stop. After the first sip hit his throat, Asahi took the skin in his own hands, gulping the liquid in a frenzy.

“Does that help?”

The throbbing in his head abetted, leaving him slightly dizzy. He sat up with relative ease, just a bit of residual stiffness in his joints.

“That… yes, thank you, that’s amazing.”

The snake spirit gave him a grin, fangs glistening in row with his human teeth, “Glad I could help. I’m Daishou.” he held out his hand to shake.

“Asahi.” he couldn’t help but smile as he took the man’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I’m sampling bits and pieces of mythologies and cultures from desert lore all over the world. The spirit names I’m using are specifically a tribute to the Southern Paiute language. The mountains that inspired this story belong to them.


	3. Challenges and Miracles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asahi reclaims his title of “hero”
> 
> Hinata makes a friend while Daichi loses one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops there’s a sex scene just kind of... thrown in there from “desperation” to “I knew it”. It’s mostly plot-related?

The air was still has the village held its collective breath. Daichi had demanded that Hinata get sleep. Kageyama had to bully him to his room. At any moment they could be facing Dateko troops. A group of men held the line at the outskirts, but Suga had recommended they let their strongest forces rest while they can. That included Hinata.

Didn’t stop him from slipping out as soon as Kageyama’s eyes were off of him. If the other boy’s foresight couldn’t predict his escape, that was his own fault.

“Absolutely under no circumstances should you go outside tonight,” Kageyama had insisted, red in the face.

“You’re not the hero yet, you’re still learning. Let Tanaka lead us for now so you can surprise them later,” Suga tried to reassure him. “You’re our wild card. We need your element of surprise.”

But Hinata Shōyō was not the kind of man to sit on the sidelines while others were risking their lives on the front lines.

He used his small stature to his advantage, slipping through the town with ease. He held a dark cloak close to himself, hood covering his hair that would otherwise give him away. The front line stretched out before him, men standing guard with whatever makeshift weapons they had gathered. No one glanced back. No one saw him slipping through scrub bushes along the dried riverbed.

He could do it, he could slip into the enemy camp and find out their plan. He couldn’t help a smug laugh at Daichi underestimating him. He could be useful and they were wasting his potential.

He saw the Dateko watch, eyes locked onto the Karasuno front line. Hinata moved to approach their encampment from the side, climbing a small hill to slide down the other side. As he moved down towards the camp, he was yanked back by his cloak.

His first instinct was to yell, but a large hand came to cover half of his face. For a moment he wished he had listened to Kageyama.

“Shhh…”

The voice wasn’t threatening. In fact, it was familiar. Hinata stopped fighting and let himself be manhandled until he was facing the snatcher.

Aone gave him a stern look, finger still held to his lips.

Hinata got the feeling he was being scolded more than threatened as the man threw him over his shoulder and walked away from the encampment. As soon as they were a safe distance away, Aone set him firmly back on the ground.

“I swear I wasn’t trying to assassinate anyone! I-I- I just—“

“You’re scared, can’t sleep, and wanted to do something to help.”

“Y-yeah… you can’t blame me! You’re threatening us! We were gonna try to get along so that everyone could survive, but no—”

“We’re scared too.”

“Wai-what? Then why go to war? You had a choice and you chose war.”

Aone took a patient breath, “we watched our people die. People are still dying. Futakuchi is desperate, scared. He doesn’t want to be at anyone’s mercy.”

“But this is _war_. People are killed in wars,” Hinata crossed his arms, staring down the taller hero, “my parents were killed in war— by Dateko.”

The color drained from Aone’s face as his eye shifted to the distance, “I’m sorry.”

“A—ahhmm… I’m sure it wasn’t your fault… was it?”

The taller man merely shrugged, still not meeting his gaze.

“Oh…” Hinata felt his ears burn red. He knew Aone was a hero. He knew that heroes killed people in war, it was their job. Asahi had killed people, but that didn’t make him a bad guy— right? He probably even killed some of Aone’s friends and family. Someday Hinata would be a hero, too.

For the first time be doubted his ability to do the job.

Aone sat on a nearby rock, motioning for Hinata to sit next to him so they could see eye to eye. It took a hop and a shuffle for Hinata to get on up, Aone helping with a steady hand. The two sat in silence for a while, eyes tracing constellations in the wide desert sky.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping? You’re attacking tomorrow and we have a strong front line, I’ll have you know,” Hinata attempted to joke, nudging Aone’s side with weak playfulness.

“Can’t sleep.”

“You’re scared?”

The taller man nodded solemnly, still not looking away from the sky.

“But you’ve been in so many battles. You’ve beaten _Asahi_ and he’s the strongest guy I know. How can you be scared?”

“I don’t like it.”

Hinata looked at the hero like he was seeing him for the first time, “then why do you do it?”

“Moniwa, Futakuchi,” he paused as if hoping Hinata would take the conversation from there. He sighed at the silence, feeling small under the boy’s attention, “my parents died in the beginning of the war. They took me in. I want to keep them safe.”

Hinata thought of Natsu, tucked away in a strange bed at the moment. She was all he had left. Small and defenseless, she looked up to her big brother to keep her safe. He realized that if it came down to it, he could kill for her. His stomach flipped at the thought. Hinata was suddenly scared of himself. Could he kill Aone if he had to? If he threatened Natsu? He would sure as hell try.

“Are you going to kill me?” He wasn’t proud of how small his voice sounded.

Aone finally turned to face him, face wide in shock. He opened his mouth to deny the accusation, but hesitated, falling silent.

Hinata broke the eye contact for him, watching his feet bounce against the rock face, “I don’t want to kill you.”

“Survive,” Aone agreed, returning his eyes to the stars. “Let’s survive.”

-

Noya woke up to a cold nose on his face. In an instant, he went from black-out to wide-awake in panic. The sharp face of a fox nudged his cheek. He leapt back from the predator, crumpling back into the scrub with a cry of pain.

“Oh, hey, it’s okay, it’s okay! I won’t eat you, little bird,” the fox laughed. Sitting back on his haunches, he shifted into a relaxed young man. “Did you fall from your nest?”

Keeping the man in his peripheral, Noya took in his surroundings. No sign of the cockatrice. They must have flown a decent distance to escape it. To his rising panic, there was no sign of Asahi either.

“Where’s the man? There was a man here, did you see him?”

“Ohohoh? You know, I haven’t seen a crow spirit around for over a decade. Did the Ada abandon their flocks in favor of humans?”

“Answer the question,” it was a struggle to stand, even harder to maintain an air of intimidation while his body shook with the effort, but he was determined to stand over the reclined Wange’e.

“No sir, I haven’t seen a human around the mountains since… well, I don’t think I ever have. They like to stick to their little villages.”

Noya groaned in frustration. He could feel sharp pains tracing the lighting strike burns running across his body. He wouldn’t be able to take flight until they healed. He was lucky to have been able to shift his wings as much as he did, but his body was drained from the exertion. There was no way he’d be able to search from the sky.

The fox leapt before Noya realized what was happening. In a moment of panic, he worried about being fox food after all, but his body wouldn’t respond to defend itself. Through the fog in his head, he was able to make out that he was lifted bridal-style. His head lulled against the stranger’s muscular chest as he attempted to regain consciousness.

“Hey, you’re in pretty bad shape yeah?”

“Asahi… he’s worse off. He broke my fall. I have to find him.”

“Good thing you befriended a fox, then. Crows don’t have the best noses, but I can help.”

As loath as he was to trust a Wange’e—a _fox_ of all things— Noya admitted he didn’t have much of a choice. After all, he had stranger choices in friends. Kuroo hadn’t tried to take a bite out of him in years. “Noya. My name’s Noya.”

“Nice to meet’cha, Noya. Name’s Terushima,” he shifted Noya in his arms, squinting at the burns and bruises running across his neck and limbs, “do we need to get you to a healer before we hunt down this Asahi guy?”

“We don’t have time. I just need to rest and I’ll be good. He’s probably dying. I need him— we need to find him.”

Terushima nodded dutifully, “can you hold on well enough for me to carry you on my back? It’ll make sniffing him out easier.

Noya nodded. It took some steeling and one of Terushima’s large steady hands grasping Noya’s wrists, but he managed to hold tight to the man’s back. Terushima crouched to catch the scent of Asahi’s trail, the foreign smell of humanity standing out against the rocks, before moving as swiftly as possible through the forest.

-

Desperation.

The feeling wicked into every aspect of Suga’s senses. He couldn’t tell if the heartbeat he felt hammering against his chest was his own anymore or whose sweat was beading down his neck. Heady musk enveloped him, making him dizzy with want. Lips danced across his collar, followed by teeth.

“Daichi,” he whined, squirming against the silk bedspread.

Broad hands held his arms to his side, leaving him helpless. The way his legs latched around his lover’s hips, pulling him closer, driving him deeper, assured him that this was exactly what he wanted.

He was restrained, marked, and subdued— all by a desperate, passionate, and powerful man— but Sugawara still felt safe.

  
He could feel Daichi’s chest press against his own as he buried his face in Suga’s neck, breath hot and humid in the tight space. He could feel Daichi throbbing inside him, hips stuttering as he chased his release. He could heat building in his stomach. His climax was coaxed from him as Daichi stilled, hips held flush with Suga’s ass.

Freeing his arms from their entrapment, Suga rubs soothing circles against his lover’s muscular back. He whispers sweet nothings as he feels Daichi begin to slump against him. They lay in a tangled, sweaty, sticky mess as Daichi softens, involuntarily slipping from inside Suga with a groan. Suga kept his legs locked around Daichi’s hips regardless, determined to keep anything from spilling.

“Koushi,” Daichi moans, voice rough. Suga feels the atmosphere change. The air gets heavy. Daichi juts up onto his elbows, giving Suga the guiltiest wide-eyed look.

Suga feels laughter bubble up from his chest along with a feeling of relief. But the laugh isn’t his own.

“I knew it,” Yui’s teasing voice vibrates from his throat. A delicate finger comes up to tap Daichi’s nose, scolding him. “So what’s stopping you?”

That was always the part that woke him up. He’d had the dream enough times that he’d stopped getting nauseous after the third of fourth repeat. But no matter how many times it happened, it tricked him every time. The passion felt real, it felt personal. He could swear it was his own body, his own voice, during the act.

But in the end it was always her.

Suga couldn’t help but be frustrated that the passion _was_ for him. Daichi called _his_ name, for crying out loud.

But it couldn’t be helped that Daichi had a wife and a duty to his lineage. No matter what, that would take precedence.

It made his heart drop to his stomach when Daichi greeted him at breakfast, all warm smiles and fond glow. God help him, he loved the man. As frustrating and irritating as the situation was, he basked in Daichi’s presence. In the privacy of their breakfast nook, he felt hopelessly in love.

It wasn’t even much of a breakfast nook. It was more of a lopsided annex they’d built on the roof as kids. The low ceiling didn’t allow them to set up proper furniture, so they’d instead opted to layer the floor with discarded cushions. Irregular windows faced east and west for watching the sun’s path.

Overall, it was just a glorified children’s fort made of handfuls of lumpy clay. The inside was a bit too small for adults, but when they filled it with laughter they always seemed to fit just right.

Suga had managed to smuggled a basket of fruit from the kitchen. Not that he needed to smuggle food anymore, not now that it was technically Daichi’s kitchen, but the mischief was half the fun.

They tried not to think about the conflict happening on the border.

Suga tried not to think about his very confusing sex dream.

Daichi tried not to think about the kitchen staff fussing over Yui’s diet.

With warm smiles, deep breaths, and a secret fort, they tried to make the best of these little moments of peace.

-

Daishou had to admit it: he was having fun. He liked fun jobs. Normally he only got asked to do boring pest control in exchange for food. Jobs where he got to use some cunning were always welcomed. This one had the added bonus of a favor from a very powerful spirit— wait— god. Definitely a good deal.

This human was supposed to be the great hero of Karasuno. He had to laugh. The man’s heart was so fragile, all it took was half a dream to break him. It took all of his willpower not to laugh.

The human in question seemed harmless enough. Tendou seemed anxious when he was describing the target, but he hadn’t even needed to look at the thing for it to come close to death.

Pathetic.

If Tendou’s boss was as much of a badass as he claimed they were, Daishou wasn’t sure why they needed to enlist the help of a lowly Togokwa. But hey, at least the job was fun.

“You live down in the village, yeah? Is it nice?” He wore his sweetest smile.

“Y-yeah,” the human smiled back, “they really mean the world to me.”

“Then what are you doing up here? Looks like they’re going to war. I’d imagine they’d need a big strong guy like you.”

“It’s a bit… complicated, I guess. I need to reach the heart of the mountains for them to win. There’s a god there and we need his help.”

Curious. Tendou said they were power hungry thugs after his boss’s position. They needed to separate, weaken, and eliminate the human, leaving his Ada companion vulnerable. He didn’t need some sob story pulling on his heartstrings.

“Isn’t it a bit risky to travel through the mountains alone? Humans are banned, you know. You should have a spirit ambassador guide you.”

“Well… I had one, but then we were attacked.”

Daishou mentally kicked himself. The man seemed to be closing up the more he probed. He had hoped to uncover some sort of weakness, a way to take down the cunning little crow. He’d managed to fly away from Tendou. There had to be a way to ground him if Tendou hoped to kill him.

“What went wrong? Mustn’t have been that great of a spirit, huh?”

“No, that’s not it. _I_ was supposed to be protecting _him_. I failed. Again.”

“Why would a human need to protect a spirit?” Daishou gave his most winning smile, “I’ll take care of you from now on. You can count on me.”

Asahi’s shy smile unsettled him. It would be easier— more fun— to take down an arrogant hero than this glass-hearted man. Why couldn’t he have been hired to knock out that mountain lion spirit instead? Regardless, he needed this god’s favor. He summoned every ounce of charisma he had in him, leading Asahi astray, further from the mountain’s heart.

The sky had just started to bruise purple when they heard the howl. Both men froze on the spot, searching frantically for the source. In the silence that followed, they could make out low groaning.

“Shit,” Daishou squinted, looking for some sort of thermal signature to show through the leaves.

“What is it?” Asahi pat himself down, begging one of his weapons to still be on his person. He’d fallen on his bow, abandoning the broken instrument at some point in his escape from Noya. He must’ve dropped his knife after drawing it on the cockatrice.

“I thought it might be that damn mountain lion, but it looks like we’ve made it to the Ditch.”

Asahi made a mental note to ask Daishou about Kuroo later, “what’s the Ditch?”

“It’s where the humans used to go to die, before they gave up on taming the mountain and returned to the valley.”

“So those howls—“

“Ghouls.”

Eyes focusing in the dying light, Asahi could just barely make out movement between the trees. He became aware of the stench of rotting flesh overwhelming the area. His sinuses filled with the taste of blood while bile rose in his throat, panic making his heart hammer. The creatures moved slowly, but his instincts were screaming to run.

He turned to Daishou for guidance only to be faced with a half rotten corpse clearing the tree line, almost in arm’s reach. The snake was nowhere to be seen, but ghouls surrounded him.

Alone and surrounded by enemies. Perfect.

Asahi’s mind went clear, his nerves settling as muscle memory took over. Unlike the cockatrice, this was familiar territory. He’d been surrounded by Dateko warriors enough times and come out alive. These ghouls were still human in a sense, but without a man’s cunning. He could do this.

This was the part where he’d usually think of Sugawara, the person he went into war to protect. He flinched in preparation for the heartache. Instead, he was presented with the memory of slender arms wrapped protectively around his waist.

He was an fool for running. Noya had saved him and stuck around, continuing to cling to him even in his failure, and Asahi had left him alone and defenseless on the forest floor. He needed to find him. He needed to win this battle.

There was an animalistic instinct that scared him, a part of him that Asahi tried to ignore in his day to day life. That part of him roared to the surface. He tore through the ghouls that closed in around him. Without his weapons, he made do with his hands.

Their ranks seemed endless, but so did his strength even though he knew it wouldn’t last. He fought his way back the way he came, retreating from the Ditch. He was barely conscious of the gore coating him as he lifted the decaying corpses, using them to bludgeon their companions. When their skeletons fell apart, he picked up a new one and repeated the process.

He was brought back to his senses when his corpse-weapon was caught mid-swing, sliced in half as he held it. For a second of terror, he thought he’d come across a ghoul that was both sentient and armed.

“Ah! You must be Asahi!” With a flash of a golden saber, Asahi was greeted with a charming smile through the carnage of slain ghouls. The young man moved around him with grace, slashing through the ghouls at Asahi’s back. “Keep going, we’re almost out.”

He growled, really tired of being forced to trust strangers. Noya was right, he had been naïve to follow Daishou. The snake had literally led him to a grave and left him for dead. He had been heading this way anyway, Asahi argued, so he wasn’t technically following the stranger, but he still wasn’t comfortable with his back to the armed man. “You lead the way, you can clear a path easier than I can.”

“You got it, hero!” He sounded almost too gleeful, fluid movements slicing through the remaining ghouls like water. They swiftly made their way out to fresh air, keeping the pace until the danger was far behind. The stranger stopped to catch his breath for a minute before crying out into the trees with an animal-like laugh.

Asahi lunged to bring the man to the ground, hand over his mouth, “you might have saved me back there, but don’t think you can call your friends to finish me off. What’s your game.”

The man wrinkled his nose as Asahi’s filthy hands smeared gore across his face. With the human pinning him to the ground, the stranger glanced meaningfully to the tree canopy, begging Asahi to look up. He refused to take his glare off of the stranger.

“Oh man, that’s disgusting. Poor Terushima.”

Terushima gasped for breath as Asahi shot to his feet, frantically searching for the source of the voice.

Noya laughed as he swung down from the boughs, wincing as his feet hit the ground. “I’d hug you, but you’re covered in dead stuff. Which is weird cause I thought _you_ were dead stuff by now. Good to see a hero back in action.”

“Noya! Noya, you’re okay!” Relief washed over Asahi like he’d never experienced, his knees buckling under him.

“Hey,” Terushima pressed against his back with a heavy boot, “this guy was worried about you. You owe him an apology.”

“Where did you go? What happened?”

“I’m sorry. I— I was worried you wouldn’t want me around.” Shame brought heat to Asahi’s cheeks.

“Don’t be stupid,” Noya scoffed, but he was smiling. Asahi realized how badly he wanted to see that smile. “Go get washed up, there’s a spring not far from here. You smell disgusting.”

Terushima went with him to the spring’s edge, scrubbing at his face with a handful of wet sand before returning to help Noya set up camp. Asahi searched for the deepest part of the spring, feeling the humanity returning to him as the gore was cleared from his skin. He felt like a new man when he emerged from the water’s edge.

The night was clear, the air peaceful. It felt so different compared to the chaos he’d just escaped. With a deep breath he felt new hope. He felt the title of “hero” resting proudly on his shoulders.

“You should have taken the easy way out.”

“Daishou!” Asahi jumped, trying to find the source of the mocking voice. His eyes tried to find any sign of movement in the foliage around him. Danger loomed at the corner of his eye no matter where he looked; he couldn’t seem to catch sight of the snake.

“Thanks for getting us out of the Ditch. And for luring in that Ada kid. The crow spirits always had a soft spot for Karasuno.”

The voice was coming closer, that was all Asahi could determine from it. Daishou’s mocking words echoed from every angle. “What do you want from me? Show yourself, you coward!”

“Like you can talk,” the snake laughed, “running away from your people at the brink of war. Running away from your quest at the first sign of trouble. Some hero you are.”

Searing heat pierced his ankle. The strike was quick, clean, almost gentle in its precision. It took Asahi a moment to register the pain. He looked down just in time to see the rattle slip away into the scrub as heat engulfed his foot. His leg refused to hold his weight, leaving him grappling for a tree to cling to.

In his rising panic, Asahi ranked his priorities. He had to get back to camp. He had to warn them. The fire was burning in his veins, causing him to cry out as the sensation breached his knees.

In a few short breaths, Noya burst through the trees, Terushima on his heels. In his panic, Noya’s wide eyes caught the moonlight. Asahi focused on the glowing gold gaze as he tried to ground himself.

“Asahi! Hey, we’re here,” Noya ducked under the man’s arm to steady him.

“A bit late there, Ada. He’s only human. He won’t last long under my venom,” Daishou mocked from the shadows.

Terushima made short work of surveying the area. He drew his saber, zeroing in on the snake as he tried to crawl under a rock. “I would suggest running, snake.” A coward acknowledging his defeat, Daishou slipped away with little more than a petty rattle.

“Asahi, let me see,” Noya dropped down to inspect the bite.

“Here,” Terushima removed his belt, kneeling to fasten it around Asahi’s thigh, “that’ll slow it. Luckily you’re tall, it’ll take it a while to reach your heart, but we should get you to a healer regardless.”

“The Caelia,” Noya glanced at Terushima meaningfully. “They’ll take care of him.”

“I’ve been searching for them all over this mountain, they don’t want to be found,” the fox snarled, “do you know how to find them?”

“I don’t, but I know people who do,” Noya rose with purpose, “keep an eye on him.”

-

A lot of people seemed to think that being a seer was cool. They were always treating it like some parlor trick, trying to get him to guess games like ‘heads or tails.’ To Kageyama it felt more like a parasite lodged in his brain.

Sugawara at least had the benefit of seeing a wide range of events. He was usually able to choose the outcomes, too. He saw a future where they had rabbit for dinner and grew terribly ill or chose ground squirrel and witnessed a shooting star. That must be nice.

Kageyama’s vision was more direct. His dreams never gave him alternatives, only absolutes. Even when he tried to change the projected future, it never worked. And worst of all: he could only see things related to Hinata.

He would know that Hinata would have toast for breakfast. He could beg the boy to have cheese instead, but he would still end up eating toast. He knew that Hinata would skin his knee if he took the left road and would thusly warn him to take the right. Without fail, Hinata would still go left and return with a bleeding knee.

Kageyama told Hinata not to wander into the enemy encampment the night before the first battle. The dream left Kageyama with an alarming copper taste in his mouth and he wasn’t eager to find out what it meant. Like a fool, he tried to warn Hinata not to go out that night.

What was the point of seeing the future if you couldn’t influence it? He hated the anticipation. Anxiety ached in his stomach almost constantly.

“Maybe you’re meant to be a story teller— or maybe like a grief counselor?” Sugawara tried to console him. The two sat in a small room in the Sawamura home, a safe distance from the scuffle on the edge of town.

The younger seer scowled at him. Suga did his best to guide him. The two basically grew up as siblings— the only family they had. Suga wished he could be a better teacher when it came to Sight, but he was still learning as well. The last seer was generations ago. The only teacher he had was the old journal they left.

“Why dumbass Hinata, of all people?”

Suga had to suppress a laugh, much to Kageyama’s irritation, “maybe it’s still developing. When I was your age I just experienced the vague idea that things were about to happen. It wasn’t until the past couple of years that I’ve been able to decider specific divinations. They started with the people I was closest to. The clearest dreams are still those about people I care about most.”

“So what’s the future hold of Sawamura?” The venom in the boy’s voice was a sorry attempt to cover the red rising on his ears. He was rewarded with a little-too-rough punch to the shoulder.

“Daichi will be… fine,” Suga’s face lost it’s playfulness, “he’ll survive the war just fine. He’s just a bit of an emotional wreck with the stress of a war so soon after taking over as chief. He‘s likely to make some stupid mistakes.”

“You’re still mad at him for marrying Yui, aren’t you.” This time he got a kick in the shin for his sass.

“It isn’t like he _chose_ to. They were betrothed as toddlers and married as teenagers. It’s more for politics and show than anything else,” Suga huffed, “besides, he says she has a lover in her court— that blonde girl?”

Kageyama smirks, but doesn’t press the issue. He’s not in the mood to listen to Sugawara floundering over his moral dilemmas. Instead he decides to pursue a different subject, “do you see me in your dreams?”

“Of course I do! You’re my baby brother, you’re the most important person there is!” He has trouble maintaining a grin under Kageyama’s invasive glare. “Really, Tobio, I dream of you all the time.”

“Am I alone?”

Suga isn’t sure what throws him off the most— the question or the small voice asking it. It wasn’t a concern he thought that Mr. Stubbornly Independent Kageyama would have. “No, no of course you’re not alone.”

“There’s not even a possible outcome where I’m alone?” He sounded skeptical.

The older seer made sure to look his protégé in the eyes, clasping his hands. Reading Kageyama’s future was always difficult. The dreams were vivid enough, but they never made sense. The people in them tended to be faceless, the situations vague. He didn’t know what they meant, but he knew for certain: “no matter what, your future will be filled with people who support you.”

The teenager pulled away with a grumbled “that’s not what I meant” followed by a “stupid Koushi.”

“You don’t see yourself in Hinata’s future, do you,” he spoke before the thought even finished crossing his mind. The look he got in response filled him with regret.

“If Hinata’s is the only future I can see and I’m not even in it, what’s the point?”

“Oh Tobio…”

“Shut up,” the boy pushed away, stomping out of the room with a final “stupid Koushi.”

-

Asahi wasn’t entirely sure he was awake at first. After weeks of dealing with uncomfortable flood damage and now the rough of the mountains, he anticipated pain upon awakening. There wasn’t a single twinge of discomfort in his body— not even a headache.

“Hey, he’s coming to,” someone leaned in close, all bright smile, wide eyes, and playful voice.

“Koushi?” Asahi was embarrassed by how rough his voice felt. He must have been sleeping like the dead, probably snoring too. Why didn’t Suga push him to roll over like he usually did?

“How rude, calling a gentleman by the wrong name,” huffed the observer, his sharp features and dark hair coming into focus. “You’ll call me Grand King Oikawa or nothing at all.”

“You don’t have to call him that,” scoffed another voice in the room. “Literally nobody does.”

“Well it has to start somewhere,” the man pouted, “might as well be with Noya’s pet human.”

Asahi struggled to sit up. His muscles might not have hurt, but they were still heavy with sleep. His body didn’t seem to want to give up on resting yet. He couldn’t blame it. The room seemed too bright. The walls shone silver-white with polished stone. His eyes begged to be closed, but he persisted.

The two men in the room with him couldn’t have been more different, though both exuded an otherworldly beauty. The one at his bedside— Oikawa— was looking at him like he was a lucky opportunity, though Asahi couldn’t figure out for what. The other, smaller, man sat on the opposite side of the room, shoulder length black hair hiding his face as he organized a collection of ceramic pots and herb clippings.

“Where am I— where’s Noya?” Panic rose in his throat as the last of his recollections surfaced. He’d been bitten by a snake— by Daishou. From there his mind was clouded with pain. He remembered the fox spirit talking over him, trying to keep him conscious. He couldn’t recall Noya being anywhere after the bite.

“Relax, you’re with the Caelia,” Oikawa gave him an encouraging pat on the back, as if it was supposed to mean something. “Noya’s out with Iwachan and the others, trying to find that snake. Turns out a little over-protective rage was all it took to get him running again.”

“He’s safe?”

“Of course he’s safe! He’s Noya, and he’s with the biggest, strongest spirits there are.”

“Here,” the other man rose and came across the room with a bowl in his hand. It contained a concoction that smelled like rosemary but looked like a thick, muddy paste. “Let me see your leg.”

Asahi shifted, noting the swollen purple lump spanning from his ankle to his knee, veins bulging against the skin. A crust of dried medicine clung to the origin of the venom. The man wiped it away with a damp cloth before applying more.

“You should eat,” Oikawa announced. He turned to his companion with a quieter voice, “Kenma, what do humans eat?” The long-haired man shrugged.

“Cooked meat, rice, fruits, berries, vegetables, some roots,” Asahi listed hopefully, stomach growling in response.

“I can do rice!” The brunette glowed with pride, making a break for the door, “I’ll be right back.”

The room was plunged into silence as Kenma continued too examine Asahi’s leg. He palpated the engorged veins, tracing the swell from top to bottom. He seemed intent on ignoring Asahi’s consciousness, zoning the man out by hiding behind his hair.

Asahi didn’t mind. The silence was relaxing, as was the massage. The room they were in was immaculately clean and well lit. He imagined this was probably what the afterlife looked like, or some sort of holy place for spirits.

It wasn’t long before Oikawa reappeared, triumphant look on his face as he handed Asahi a bowl of rice. Uncooked rice.

He supposed he could eat it. It wouldn’t hurt, but it still wasn’t very appetizing. The longer he hesitated, the more insistent and nervous the man’s smile got.

Luckily his dilemma was postponed by the arrival of a small brown bird— an elf owl— fluttering into the room. In an instant it transformed into a tall and slender man with a head of dark curls. Sharp lined eyes gave Asahi a once over.

“We’re back,” the newcomer announced, “and Oikawa, I believe you need to soak rice in water before feeding it to humans.”

“Yeah! Otherwise it expands in their stomachs and makes them explode!” Bokuto burst into the room behind him, followed by an over-eager Kuroo.

“You know that’s not true, right?” Another man ducked into the room, all tanned skin and toned limbs, “human stomachs expand just like ours do. They’re just picky eaters and don’t like to eat things raw.”

Asahi’s face flushed at the accusation. He’d never considered himself a picky eater, but he didn’t look forward to crunching on raw rice.

The elf owl held a hand out for the bowl, “here, let’s see if we can make this more palatable for you.”

“Thank you, ahh…”

“Akaashi,” he nodded, “I know you’ve suffered Bokuto and Kuroo. This is Iwaizumi,” Akaashi motioned to the tanned newcomer. “Did Oikawa and Kenma properly introduce themselves?”

Oikawa beamed at him, the longer haired man lifted his fingers in noncommittal greeting.

“We’re the Caelia, an ancient tradition of healers,” Oikawa bragged while Akaashi left with the bowl of raw rice, “and this is our guard,” he motioned to Bokuto, Kuroo, and Iwaizumi.

“How’sit going, hero?” Kuroo grinned, coming over check out Asahi’s leg.

“It feels… good actually. Like new.” Asahi curled his toes experimentally.

Kuroo gave Kenma a firm pat on the shoulder, “knew it would be! Kenma’s got talent.”

The man in question turned his face, trying to hide the red that rose from his neck. “I’m just doing my job, it’s not a big deal.”

“Where’s Noya?”

“He went to talk to the fox king,” Kuroo motioned vaguely down the hall, “we couldn’t find the snake, but he found some petroglyphs and insisted we come back and tell the fox immediately.”

“We gotta tell him you’re awake! He was worried sick,” Bokuto grinned. “You two are good together.”

“Bokuto, don’t make dangerous assumptions.” Akaashi stepped back into the room. He handed the bowl back to Asahi with a broad spoon. “I hope it’s to your liking.”

Asahi bit his tongue. The rice was now warm water and rice, like some kind of soup. There was no way— he couldn’t say anything. Not after Akaashi had been so accommodating. He put on his bravest smile and tentatively scooped the still-raw-but-now-wet rice to his lips. It was surprisingly sweet. It would have tasted great if the grains weren’t getting stuck in his teeth.

He made a mental promise to cook them a meal if he ever got the chance. Even his minimal cooking skills would impress them.

“Now that he’s awake we should let him rest.”

“But Akaashi! He just woke up, I wanna talk with him some more.”

“Don’t pout, Bokuto,” Akaashi placed a gentle arm across the larger man’s chest, turning him with a kiss on the cheek. “You can check back later. Rest for now, Asahi.”

“Bye! We’ll be back later!” Bokuto grabbed Kuroo’s hand on the way out, who in turn wrapped an arm around Kenma. The four exited together.

“Hero,” Iwaizumi stepped forward with a serious face, “you arrived without weapons.”

“Ah… I had a bow and a hunting knife. I lost them when we escaped the cockatrice.”

Oikawa looked like he was holding back a laugh. “You didn’t really come prepared, did you?”

“I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest.”

“What are your preferred weapons,” Iwaizumi interjected.

“In war I prefer a mace. It takes advantage of my height and strength—“

“Uh-uh, no,” Oikawa interrupted him. “Ghouls were a lucky encounter. Most things up here aren’t gonna move slow enough to hit with a mace. Pick something lighter, faster.”

“But I’m not—“

“Iwachan will get you set up with a great sword, something heavy enough for your comfort but a bit more graceful. I have a feeling you’ll learn it quick,” he winked.

“Are you a seer?” Asahi blurted before he could help himself. Something about the way Oikawa looked at him made Asahi feel like he’d been opened and pursued like a cabinet.

Iwaizumi made an offended huff, but Oikawa laughed. “Each of us in the Caelia are fae blessed, but to different degrees. I can’t see specific outcomes, but I get really reliable gut feelings. I can usually tell what will have the best results. For you, that means a great sword.”

“So I guess I’ll dig up a great sword,” Iwaizumi mumbled as he turned for the door.

“With a gold hilt, Iwachan!” Oikawa grinned at Asahi one more time before chasing after his guard.

The small room went from overcrowded to empty all too fast for Asahi’s already exhausted mind. His eyes grew heavy, still weak to the brightness of the room. He obeyed, letting himself drift back to sleep.

-

There had never been an easy time in Dateko.

Futakuchi grew up with putrid summers. The least fortunate were pruned by the heat every year. Between the temperature, dehydration, and competition for resources, the streets often erupted with violence.

At the very least Dateko could say they were strong— they were a people of survivors.

Previous generations had tried to improve their lot. They’d tried to lay claim of more prosperous valleys, secure water sources and fertile land. That damned Karasuno got in their way every time. Rumor had it they had a god protecting their people.

Futakuchi didn’t believe in gods.

Even if they did exist, they surely didn’t deserve praise.

He’d been ten years old when the shell shocked war orphan was dropped off at the boy’s ranch. It would be years before anyone heard Aone’s voice. It took two months for Futakuchi to understand him without it. From then they were inseparable— a cunning boy and his hulking, silent best friend. As long as they had each other no one would bother them.

He couldn’t be sure what event had stunned Aone mute and left him orphaned. Just the thought of anything tarnishing such innocence made Futakuchi’s blood boil. There were nights when Aone’s muffled sobs escaped his dreams. On those nights, Futakuchi crawled into his bed, stroked the sweet boy’s starlight hair, and vowed to do more than survive.

The man standing before him had since grown out of his nightmares. Or maybe he’d just gotten used to them. Aone sharpened a spearhead with the gravity of drowning a beloved pet. Futakuchi couldn’t ignore the stab of guilt when he noted the bloodstains on Aone’s tunic. He hadn’t intended to make Aone fight; he never wanted to use him, but the man’s loyalty was unwavering.

He waged war for Aone’s sake and for those like him. He waged war for an entire people forsaken by gods and left to rot in the desert. He waged war so they could do more than survive— he wanted Dateko to thrive.

Rumor had it that Karasuno’s god had fallen. The monsoon was proof of it. The time was now.

Tomorrow they’d breach Karasuno’s heart. Tomorrow would be the first day of a strong and prosperous Dateko.

-

He’d had another dream. A new one. Sugawara Koushi scrambled to reach Daichi before the copper taste had even left his tongue.

Night clothes still skewed on his slight form, silver hair rumbled in all directions, he burst through the chief’s bedroom door without even a courtesy knock. Daichi shot to consciousness, wartime keeping him on constant edge.

“Suga, what’s wrong.”

“Yui,” He panted, “it’s Yui. Daichi, please tell me you haven’t done anything rash.”

“Come here. Talk clearer.” Daichi shifted to make room for Suga on the bed.

“Daichi, we’re in a famine and we’re going to be in famine for at least another year.” He took Daichi’s hand with unwavering eye contact. “Please tell me you haven’t been trying for an heir while we’re in a famine.”

Suga could feel the heat as blood rushed to Daichi’s face. “Don’t look at me like that, the counsel suggested it. We’re at war, Suga. There’s a decent chance I could _die_. There’s also a chance that they’ll do unspeakable things to Yui. We have to be sure any child she bares will carry the Sawamura lineage. I’m not stupid, Suga, I’ve put a lot of thought into this—“

He was interrupted with a hard slap across his shoulder. “She’s going to die, Daichi. If she’s pregnant, she’s dead.”

Despite his built up jealousy, Suga still liked Yui. They had been friends once. Back when he’d been with Asahi, they’d even gone on double dates. It wasn’t until Suga started seeing the flood, until he started spending every moment at Daichi’s side planning for it, that this unspoken wall formed between them. It was more awkwardness than animosity.

She didn’t deserve to die.

“How do I stop it.”

Suga fixed him with a grim look. Disappointment etched lines in his normally soft features. “You need to keep me in the loop. The elders are working off archaic ideologies. I can _see the future_ , Daichi. You have to trust me. Trust _me_ , not them.”

“So tell me, Suga, what do I do?! You always give me options. There’s always a way out. Tell me, please.”

“If I see a way out, I’ll tell you. Just like I tell you everything.” Suga turned from him, still staying by his side. Morning light had started to filter in through the windows. Tiny footsteps like mice could be heard through the house as it woke and prepared for the day.

“But you don’t, Suga.” Daichi’s voice just broke a whisper.

“I can’t see _everything_ , Daichi.”

“It’s not that.” He turned to take in Sugawara’s profile. Silhouetted in the oranges and pinks of sunrise, he looked otherworldly. It was hard to believe that the man before him was the same boy he used to steal biscuits from when they were young. “We have to talk about us.”

Suga drew an exasperated sigh. “My duty is to Karasuno. I can’t get distracted by galavanting around as your mistress. We _have_ been talking about it— ever since you tried to kiss me during flood preparations.”

“Sugawara, we could die in this. Now could you stop playing the martyr and be selfish for once— I know I’m not the only one feeling this. I’m tired of dancing circles around the topic.”

Before he could register the movement, Suga’s knees were hugging Daichi’s hips. The red of his face screamed his frustrations. For a moment Daichi’s heart stuttered with fight-or-flight— a rabbit caught by a coyote. Suga’s gentle hand on his jaw brought him back to reality.

Despite the infinite frustrations they caused one another, moments like this made it worth while. Suga’s laugh. Suga’s gentle touch. The way he knew how to tease without pushing too hard.

God.

Daichi was hopeless.

The door burst open without warning for the second time that morning (Daichi made a mental note to use the lock). Suga jumped a full foot in the air, launching himself to the foot of the bed. Hinata stumbled into the room, red in the face and out of breath. Kageyama almost ran over him in his haste to follow.

“Daichi!” The little hero’s voice was tense and strained, “they’ve broken through the boundary!”

“They’re coming,” Kageyama tried to compose himself, tried to look less like a child out of his depths, “Dateko’s coming.”

-

“Asahi.”

The room seemed even brighter when he opened his eyes this time. Noya stood out against the white walls like a storm cloud— fresh gray silk robes, stormy expression, dark hair meticulously groomed back with the accent of his blonde bangs adding to the effect.

“Noya,” his voice came out smaller than he anticipated. He was happy to see the man, sure, but now he was forced to face his own shortcomings. He’d come into the mountains wholly unprepared. He’d promised to protect Noya, but every time they’d faced danger it ended with Noya saving _him_. He was a failure as a hero. Again.

“Why did you run.”

“I couldn’t protect you. I was supposed to protect you and I couldn’t! I’m just endangering you by making you my guide.”

“Don’t be stupid! I can make those choices for myself; I don’t need you to make them for me.”

“I’m not cut out for this!” Asahi was on his feet before he was conscious of his movements. He knew he should be towering over Noya in this stance, but the smaller man still dominated the room. “I’ve only ever fought humans. Cockatrice, ghouls, Togokwa, and whatever else is out there— I can’t fight them!”

“How can you know that if you don’t even try?! I’ve seen you fight. I know you can fight! I waited for you! I risked my ass to save you! Don’t you go giving up without even trying!”

“Hey!” Kuroo skidded around the corner. He hooked his arms under Noya’s to lift him away. “Calm down you two—“

“I’m Ada— the last Ada— I can’t beat a Thunderbird on my own! I don’t care how many times we fall, I need you! You’re the hero of Karasuno and I need your help!”

Bokuto poked his head around the corner, trying to determine if further intervention was needed. Iwaizumi strode in after him, face scrunched in distaste. “Good, you’re well enough to fight. Got your sword, let’s get to work.”

Asahi nodded, stepping around Kuroo with Noya still dangling from his arms. “I’m not running away anymore, you don’t need to worry.”

Noya’s expression remained hard, but a smile quirked the corners of his mouth. He nodded encouragement as Kuroo set him down.

Iwaizumi led Asahi down a series of stairs to an underground cellar. The room was cool, being lit indirectly through skylights. Air moved through hidden ventilation, bringing the crisp scent of pine and sage from the mountain. Asahi was presented with a sturdy sword, golden hilt catching the light. He took it in both hands. The weight felt familiar, reassuring. He swung it experimentally, marveling at how differently it moved through the air compared to his usual mace.

“Don’t go beating it around like some kind of barbaric club,” Iwaizumi chastised, “you’re being given a weapon blessed by the Caelia, it’s an honor.”

“Oh course,” Asahi dredged up every etiquette rule he’d ever learned, standing at attention, “please teach me well.”

The responding smirk put him oddly at ease. Iwaizumi drew a seif from his belt. The gently curved blade looked elegant and swift— a completely different breed from Asahi’s own. “Your opponents will be fast and powerful. You’ll have to learn to work around your own shortcomings in those areas.”

His first couple of strikes hit softly as he allowed Asahi to warm up to the weapon. The hero worked on finding the middle ground between his usual stance and Iwaizumi’s lighter, less grounded poses.

“Noya mentioned a Thunderbird.”

“Yes, did he not mention it before?”

“No one’s mentioned anything.” He found himself getting better at blocking Iwaizumi’s ongoing assaults, trying to keep up with his accelerating pace. “The cockatrice, the ghouls, a Thunderbird, no one seems to want to warn me about these things ahead of time.”

“Ah,” Iwaizumi huffed as his seif was thrown from his grasp. “Well, the creature at the heart of the mountains is a Thunderbird. Consider yourself warned.”

Asahi dropped back into a guarded stance as Iwaizumi retrieved his weapon. “Something tells me you know what happened to Karasuno’s guardian deity. You just don’t want to tell me.”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? He was dethroned by the Thunderbird. Are all humans this oblivious?”

“Dethroned or killed?”

“Dethroned, pay attention.” Iwaizumi halted with his blade under Asahi’s arm.

“So where is he? I need to find him, first and foremost.”

“That’s for him to reveal,” The guard laughed as Asahi managed to back him across the room. “Have you considered that maybe the guardian doesn’t want the role anymore? He’s been robbed of his family. He’s been near death. And for what? A handful of selfish humans? If you ask me, the Thunderbird set him free.”

“My people are dying!” Asahi punctuated his outburst with a blow, sending the seif clattering across the room.

“Brutish, but that works,” Iwaizumi shrugged, “will you take the guardian’s place if he refuses to take up his mantle?”

“Yes.”

“Really? You’d spend the rest of your short life imprisoned on a mountaintop? You’d take the lightning strikes upon yourself for the sake of people who would soon forget you?”

“Yes.” His voice wavered just slightly, but he stood resolute. Daichi had grown into his role of chief, all grounded charisma and reassuring warmth. Suga— god, Suga— with his blinding angelic smile, uplifting laughter, and compassionate nature? Tanaka’s bleeding heart had yet to find love, he couldn’t let him die young. Hinata had such a bright future ahead of him; he looked up to Asahi like he hung the stars in the sky. Even broody Kageyama— everyone. He would gladly sign up for a life of servitude if it meant they could thrive.

Despite his cynicism, Iwaizumi grinned with confidence. “Okay, Hero. Let’s kick it up a notch.”

-

The leather armor made Suga’s skin crawl. Despite generations of minor conflicts, nothing had ever breached home. He’d never expected to face war himself. He could see houses burning on the western border. His stomach felt sick. The only weapon they could find for him was an elegant kitchen knife, which he’d wrapped in leather and concealed by his side. None of his dreams had announced Asahi’s return, but they also hadn’t predicted death. Sugawara dug in deep to any hope he could find.

He was commanded to stay in the lopsided fort on top the house, like a damsel locked away in a tower. To cushion is pride, they stuck him with Yui with orders to protect her. Tanaka gave him an encouraging grin and a big speech about how important he was as the last line of defense for Karasuno’s future. Suga knew damn well that he was placed here by an overprotective Daichi for his own sake.

“If we close our eyes it’s almost like we’re kids again,” Yui smiled up at him from her nest of cushions. “Remember when you and Daichi would lock me in this little house then fight to claim it? You had these dried yucca leaves that you pretended were sabers. You’d always cut your hands on the sharp edges until you figured out how to wrap them in rags.”

“He always got so mad when I won.” He turned from the smoke, coming to sit by her. Yui rearranged the cushions so he could sit.

  
“Maybe that’s why he left you here with me. He didn’t want you to show him up on the battlefield.”

“Yeah, it’d be pretty embarrassing if the homebody seer outdid the mighty and battle-worn chief.”

Yui laughed, bumping him gently with her shoulder. “You know that’s not really the reason, right?”

Suga froze. Oh god, so they were having this talk. “I know.”

“Pretty sure I’m up here more to protect you than vice versa. I was told to keep you from running off. Plus, I think my knife is bigger than yours,” to prove her point, she pulled a grim dagger from the folds of her tunic.

Suga’s pinched expression left her giggling uncontrollably. “That’s not fair! They gave me a kitchen knife! Trade me,” he demanded as he tried to grab it from her reach.

“No way, Suga. Pretty sure I’ve had more combat experience than you anyway.”

He was about to wrestle her for it when she winced, hand coming to cradle her stomach. “Yeah, there’s no way you’re going into battle like that.”

“Then I guess we’re at a stalemate,” she muttered through gritted teeth, “you have to stay here to keep me from running into the fray, and I have to do the same for you.”

“Or we could both piss Daichi off and run off together,” he suggested with a comforting hand to her back.

“Let this wave pass and we’ll go,” she agreed.

He stood to reassess the conflict. The smoke was closer now. Thicker. Dateko was progressing much quicker than he thought they would. Suga didn’t know what he expected. For them to pace themselves maybe? But it looked like they were charging on full-steam, cutting a blazing path behind them.

“It’s just past noon and the sky’s getting darker.” Yui stood with a stretch, begging her abdomen to cooperate. “That’s a lot of smoke.”

“They’re moving fast— full force.”

“Then we should too. Come on.”

By the time he turned, she was already descending the ladder. “Yui!”

“Keep up, Sugawara! Can’t let me get hurt, can ya?”

“Dammit. Yui!” He scrambled after her as they ducked through the house.

She was right. If he blocked out the noise, it felt like they were kids again. Little terrors tearing through the house playing war. She could always outrun him, but he knew the shortcuts better. Running down the empty main hall of the second floor, she was almost at a corner and out of sight. He ducked into one of the bedrooms, slipping through a closet, knowing he’d resurface ahead of her. He stumbled back into the hallway in record time.

Yui was nowhere to be seen.

It had been a matter of seconds. He cursed himself for getting caught up in the fantasy of childhood. He tried to be clever instead of safe. There were limited options for her disappearance. He backtracked down the hall, keeping a careful ear out for the enemy.

“Boo!”

Suga fumbled with his knife as he turned on the man who’d grabbed his shoulders. The bundle fell uselessly to the ground. Tanaka had the audacity to laugh in his face. Yui was dissolving in a fit of laughter behind him.

“I knew you kids wouldn’t stay cooped up for long.”

“We’re older than you!”

Tanaka only laughed harder as he gave Suga a firm pat on the back, pulling him alongside. “Come on, you have mischief planned, right? Let’s get to it.”

“I’m assuming Daichi left you here to keep us out of trouble.”

“He should have known better, honestly,” Tanaka said with a shrug as the trio made their way to the first floor. “Ennoshita would have been a better bet.”

“So what can we do?” Yui’s grin made Suga slightly uneasy. She was maybe a little _too_ eager. There had to be repercussions to shedding blood while pregnant. The last thing he wanted was for Daichi to have an _evil_ child.

“I figured we can infiltrate their center circle. Futakuchi already has eyes for me, so I’d be captured, not killed. They underestimate us.”

“That’s a really fucking stupid idea,” Tanaka’s excited expression contrasted his tone. “Are you really expecting me to let you get _captured_?”

“No, I’m expecting you to keep Yui safe. You two stay hidden.”

“You know he’s gonna use you to get to Daichi,” there was a surprising lack of jealousy in Yui’s voice.

“Daichi’s not such an idiot that he’d give up Karasuno for me.”

She just laughed at him. She laughed harder when Tanaka joined her. The two leaned heavily together as Suga waited for their outburst so subside, hand on his hip.

“You’re the idiot, Koushi.”

“Come on, we’ll get you in and out before he has time to parade you around as a spoil of war. Let’s get you a real weapon first.”

“Thank you.” Suga knew full well it was a fool’s mission, but he had to do something.

Luckily the smoke made it pretty obvious where the fighting was taking place. Suga made sure his newly acquired dagger was safely tucked against his thigh. All three wrapped scarves over their faces to soften the smoke. Suga was loath to ruin the lush fabric, but these were desperate times.

Most non-combatants had evacuated East by now. Anyone who could fight struggled to put out fires as they were lit, trying desperately to keep the destruction from spreading. It seemed that most had abandoned their weapons in favor of shovels, digging trenches and throwing dirt on the flames. Defeat already settled on their souls like dead weight. Now they were just trying to survive the invasion.

The trio skirted around the edges of the conflict. Suga led them into an abandoned house to get a higher vantage point of the situation.

“There! There’s those damn horses,” Tanaka grumbled, pointing toward the center of the encroaching mass.

Suga squinted at Futakuchi. The man was no coward. He rode close enough to to front lines to keep en eye on progress and give direction. He wouldn’t be easy to reach undetected.

A flash of orange got his attention.

“Dammit.”

“They got Hinata!”

“How did they get Hinata, he was supposed to hang back!”

“Well, so were we!”

“What are they doing with him?”

Suga leaned forward as best he could, trying to make sense of the scene amidst the chaos. “It looks like their big guy has him bound. Futakuchi is laughing. It doesn’t look like they’re hurting him. Captive is more like it.”

“Odd choice, but I’m grateful if that’s the case. The kid’s fast, he can escape if captured.” Tanaka’s fidgeting gave away his anxiety despite his reassurances.

Yui rubbed his shoulder, grounding herself in his presence. “He’ll be okay. Hinata’s small, but he’s a hero in training. And he has Kageyama, if he were in danger they’d be prepared.”

“I can’t find Daichi.”

Suga’s broken voice got their attention. Three pairs of eyes raked the crowd furiously searching for the man in power.

“H-he doesn’t stand out much. I’m sure he’s okay, we just haven’t spotted him yet.”

“Yeah, you know how he is. He probably dismounted his horse to help people dig. He’s just hidden behind a house or in the smoke or something.”

But Suga had already booked it down the stairs before the other two could assure him. He knew how to cut through the narrow spaces between buildings. For years this town had been his playground, he knew every nook and cranny— every jumping board and landing pad. Now adrenaline fueled his muscle memory as he rushed towards the flames.

They were right, Daichi would be exactly where he was most needed, but it wasn’t with the fire fighters. Suga was choking on smoke as he ran against the fire wall. He spotted his target just beyond the flames, engaged in a tight struggle with an enemy sword. Daichi was flanked by a few of his men, attempting to batter back the fire starters.

The Dateko invaders came prepared. Menacing masks covered their faces, filtering out the smoke. Daichi and his men made do with bits of scavenged cloth wrapped around their nose and mouth. Suga could tell by the way his chest heaved that the cloth wasn’t enough.

In a moment of distraction, Daichi’s opponent took advantage of a coughing fit to grab his arm, throwing him behind enemy lines, separating him from his wingmen. His comrades were engaged with their own battles. No one was coming to Daichi’s aid as he lay coughing, air knocked out of him, enemy casually striding towards him.

Suga had to move.

He wasn’t the fastest or the strongest, but at the moment he was the only one who could act. He barely felt the fire as he leapt past it into the battle ground. The dagger on his thigh resisted his tug, ripping through his clothing as he drew it. No one had seen him with enough time to react to a man with starlight hair and lavish veil charging into the skirmish.

His dagger caught Daichi’s attacker on the shoulder, causing him to momentarily lose grip of his sword. The dagger didn’t do much. Suga felt it slice the man’s clothes much like cutting open a quail. It didn’t sink in, the damage was mostly superficial.

But oh. Now he had a trained warrior’s attention on him. And he’d made him _angry_. Suga hadn’t thought this far ahead. He hadn’t really thought of this part at all.

“Ah. Hi,” he muttered, holding the dagger before him like it would do much good against the sword.

More men had come forward to bare down on Daichi. The man was back on his feet, sword in hand, but he was trapped in engaging the newcomers. “God dammit, Sugawara!” He hollered over his shoulder. “You were supposed to stay with Yui!”

“Sugawara?” The man squaring him up raised an eyebrow in interest. “Well, you just walked right into my hands, didn’t you?”

“Yui’s safe! She’s with Tanaka!” Suga shouted back to Daichi, crouching into a defensive position.

“She was supposed to keep _you_ safe! Yet, here you are.” Daichi managed to decommission one of the men keeping him pinned. Suga winced. He knew war in theory— hell, he had dated the Hero of Karasuno during his peak—but seeing someone he loved sprayed with blood left him quaking.

His opponent’s sword clashed with his dagger. Suga had to use both hands to keep a grip on it. The man was toying with him, batting him around like a mouse before its killed.

More blood as Daichi drove his sword into the meat of his opponent’s shoulder. He turned to take out Suga’s attacker a moment too late.

“Let him go,” Daichi skirted the man, trying to get back to his side of the battle line before more men could approach his exposed back.

The attacker held Suga’s back against his chest with a firm arm. Suga’s veil was torn to the side so that Daichi could get full view of his frustrated expression as his own dagger was held to his throat. “Oh, him? He’s important, isn’t he?”

“Don’t you dare hurt him.”

“Hmmmmm,” the man slipped the dagger, letting it rest against Suga’s collarbone through his now-tattered tunic. “He’s pretty, isn’t he? I think I’ll keep him. If you really want him I can deliver your terms of surrender to Futakuchi.”

Daichi watched helplessly as the skin bowed under the blade. Suga tried to breath deep, to avoid panic, but smoke filled his lungs. The resulting coughing fit caused the man’s hand to slip, leaving a messy series of slices across Suga’s shoulder.

“I said don’t hurt him!” Daichi’s voice sounded feral, alien in his own ears, as he restrained himself from attacking the man.

“Daichi!” His comrades finally caught up to him.

“Fuck. What do you want us to do, chief?”

His voice caught in his throat with an edge of shame, “stand down. Just keep them from advancing.”

The enemy let himself laugh as he fell back, Suga still tight in his grasp. They soon disappeared in the smokey haze.

“Chief, maybe you should fall back. We can handle this.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Ennoshita, but please shut up,” he growled, “now there’s all the more reason for me to fight.”

Suga couldn’t help but wonder if it would’ve been better for him to struggle and die right then and there. He could have rid Daichi of his inhibitions and filled with a thirst for vengeance all at once. But he wasn’t ready to die— it wasn’t in the books yet.

Aside from the cuts on his shoulder, the man didn’t handle him unkindly. Once behind enemy lines, he dropped the dagger and took to leading Suga with a gentle hand at his back. He was almost offended that he was considered so docile as to not even need restraints. They even tied up Hinata, but no, Suga was allowed to walk freely.

At least he was right about them underestimating him. Though in his mind he had imagined a weapon concealed at his hip.

He heard the hooves against the street before he saw the man. Futakuchi towered over him with a pleased smile.

“Well! If it isn’t Daichi’s little seer-slash-mistress. Hello again, beauty.”

“You know you just seriously pissed off a very powerful man, right?”

“I’m pretty sure I pissed him off when I started burning his town. If you’re the thing that finally triggers his fight then he wasn’t much of a chief to begin with, yeah?”

“Sugawara!” Hinata bounced behind the line of horses, seemingly unfazed by the giant warrior looming over him. “Suga! What happened, why are you here?”

“Aone, take them both back to camp. If Daichi doesn’t give up by the end of the day, we can kick off tomorrow by returning them a little worse for wear.”

The pale giant nodded solemnly. Suga was shoved towards him, caught by the man’s large hands. With a hand on each of them, Aone led the prisoners out of the smoke.

They traveled in silence for a while. Suga could _feel_ that Hinata was up to something. The boy walked much too lightly for a bound prisoner of war. Maybe he put a little too much confidence in Tobio’s assurances that he’d be alright.

Aone brought them to a halt halfway to their destination. Suga prepared himself for an ambush. They’d reached a sweet spot between the view of the battle field and the camp. No one could see them from here. Aone could have his way and be done with them and no one would be able to stop him. Suga felt panic rise like bile in his throat as the man drew a cruel knife. He grabbed Hinata by the arm, raising the knife to the smaller boy’s back.

“Wait!” Suga took advantage of his free limbs to jump on the giant’s back. He knew he wouldn’t survive a scuffle with the monster, but he could give Hinata a chance to run. “Please, he’s just a kid!” His fingers dug into the man’s biceps in desperation.

Aone tried to shrug him off. “I know. Hinata’s my friend.”

The smaller hero looked up at Suga, blush creeping across his cheeks, “we can trust Aone.”

“Did you not see Asahi after their last fight?! He almost killed him!” No matter how much he tried to play the gentle giant angle, Suga would never forget his boyfriend being returned to him a gory pulp on the brink of death.

“Do you know where he is?” Aone made no further effort to dislodge Suga. The man slid own on his own accord.

“Asahi? Like hell I’d tell you.”

“Hinata needs to go to him. He needs to get help. Futakuchi will destroy you otherwise.” He sawed through the ropes holding Hinata. The boy shook the feeling back into his arms.

“How do I find him, Suga?”

“Asahi can’t help us here— he can’t— he’d die if he stepped on the battlefield. I saw it myself.”

Both heroes continued to give him pleading stares. This definitely wasn’t a situation Suga had seen coming— not something he had ever prepared for. Hinata looked like a kid who found a massive lion begging his mom to let him keep it as a pet.

“Maybe— maybe if he can get the guardian deity to help us. If you find him, tell him Karasuno has fallen. We need more than a storm averted— we need divine intervention.”

Hinata sighed. “So it really happened, huh. We lost.”

“We lost,” Suga placed a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder. “But there’s hope. Kageyama is at Asahi’s home tending the wounded. Stop by on your way to the mountains, he can help you.”

With a curt nod, the young hero was off. His height and speed would carry him safely around the conflict. Suga had to have faith in him.

His faith in Aone was less assured. He felt the man’s menacing presence at his back.

“Futakuchi talks big, but he won’t hurt you,” he tried to comfort Suga as he herded him back towards camp. “He’s not cruel.”

“Don’t think me naïve,” Suga spit, crossing his arms. “As if what you did to Asahi wasn’t cruel. I spent months by his bedside, trying to nurse my boyfriend back to health when I could hardly look at him without crying.”

“He called your name,” Aone offered like it was supposed to bring him comfort. He just twisted the knife of shame in his chest. Suga had known that. He had seen it. It haunted his dreams for months prior: Asahi laying near death in the desert sand, begging for his life, begging to see Suga again. It’s the vision that made him swear to close his heart.

And then he went and did the same thing to Daichi.

They spent the rest of the trip in tense silence until they arrived at camp. Aone turned Suga over to another set of men who shut him into a tent. The seer took a moment to mope on a stool before realizing where he was. There was a desk on the far side of the tent. A decently nice bedroll was cushioned by a nest of pillows against the back wall.

He’d been delivered to Futakuchi’s tent.

Pushing the implications of being a prisoner of war held in the enemy chief’s tent, Suga grinned at his luck. He made quick work of going through every piece of information he could find on the desk and surrounding chests.

He was still far from useless. They’d underestimated him again.

-

Noya could get used to this view.

Lounging with Oikawa on the stairs leading to the sparring room, both men ogled shamelessly.

It took a few days, but Asahi had gotten the hang of wielding his sword. Iwaizumi kept switching up his own weapons to keep Asahi’s growth versatile. Both men were currently working up a sweat with a fast-paced sparring match. Working up a sweat while gloriously shirtless. Asahi’s hair was lashed back with a leather strap, but pieces had fallen forward, sweat plastering them to his cheeks and neck.

Iwaizumi’s spear went clattering across the floor. Asahi glanced up to make sure Noya saw his moment of triumph. The smaller man gave him a thumbs up, causing his face to brighten with the widest grin.

Noya decided that confidence definitely looked good on him.

Oikawa elbowed his side. “This is the same one with the bees, right?”

“Y-yeah. He’s that one.”

“The one you tried to wipe out that village for? But then Akaashi talked you out of it?”

“Karasuno’s my people, okay? I have to protect my people.”

The red rising on his face just made Oikawa laugh. “It was just a little land squabble. You didn’t care until your precious hero was hurt.”

“You know that’s not the reason I protect them. You have reason to want them safe too, don’t lie.” He tried to ignore the sour face Oikawa gave him. “Asahi’s just… he’s really amazing, okay? He’s gentle and kind. He raises bees and fruit trees in the quiet of his little corner of the valley. But then he’s a total badass that rips ghouls limb from limb and uses those dismembered limbs to take out more ghouls! I mean, look at him!”

“Hmmm… no, sorry, Iwachan’s prettier.”

“Hey! Ratty-kawa!” Said guard strode up to them as Asahi straightened the weapons back on their racks. “Did you save any water for us?”

“Maybe,” Oikawa grabbed a water skin, standing up to tease his lover with it. “What’re you going to do for it?”

Without a hint of affection on his face, Iwaizumi wrapped Oikawa in a bear-hug, causing the healer to screech in disgust.

“Nasty Iwachan! Nasty, sweaty, gross!”

Noya stood to greet Asahi as he approached, cheeks still flushed from exertion. “You’re learning fast.”

“It’s not the first time I’ve held a sword, it’s just not my strong point,” Asahi admitted. “Let me get cleaned up. Akaashi’s letting me make dinner tonight. You’re gonna love it.”

“Can’t wait,” Noya grinned, keeping a hand on Asahi’s forearm as they headed upstairs.

“What’s he doing here?!”

“How did you find us?!”

“We’re just here for Asahi—“

“Someone grab Noya!”

The scuffle at the end of the hall shook the walls. With a glance between them, Asahi and Noya hurried to the source.

At first all they could make out were he backs of a giant mountain lion, fur bristled all up its back. A smaller but still larger than normal bobcat arched its back by its side. Asahi could just barely make sense of Bokuto through the veil of feathers that surrounded him.

“What’s happening,” Asahi regretted leaving his sword downstairs.

The mountain lion backed down, stepping to the side to give Asahi a view, “these two just came waltzing in. As if this is a place you can just casually walk into.” Kuroo’s voice came out as a growl.

“Asahi!” Hinata bounced past the intimidating spirits, wrapping his limbs around Asahi in a relieved hug. “We found you!”

“Tobio!”

Asahi glanced down to see a shell-shocked Noya gaping at the dark haired boy in the doorway. He shifted Hinata to the opposite hip without a thought of infantizing the boy. Hinata didn’t seem to notice, sharing Asahi’s confused glances between the two.

“…yes?” Kageyama eyed Noya suspiciously.

“Tobio! It’s really you! You came back!” Noya reflected Hinata’s earlier enthusiasm, bounding across the hall to tackle the boy to the ground. “Guys, it’s Tobio! You remember Tobio!”

“Wish I didn’t,” Oikawa stepped around Kuroo as the cat shifted back to his human frame with Kenma tucked under his arm. “Long time no see, little prince.” No one missed Oikawa’s searching gaze, but no one commented on it.

“Please let me up. I don’t know you.”

Noya jumped back as if bitten. “But— you’re Tobio—“

“Noya, he was just a baby when he fell. He’s not gonna remember us. Hell— we didn’t even recognize him.” Kuroo put a cautious hand on Noya’s shoulder.

“No thanks to some people,” Noya shot Oikawa a piercing look.

“Please stop fighting!” Hinata wiggled out of Asahi’s arms until the man dropped him. “Asahi, we need your help.”

“What’s happened.”

“How about we move this into the dining room instead of quarreling in the hallway,” Akaashi beckoned from the doorway for them to enter. They sheepishly obeyed, Oikawa shooting Kageyama another dirty look before following him in.

Akaashi had everyone sit in an orderly fashion before calling the meeting to order. “If our guests could formally introduce themselves so we know who has infiltrated our home.”

“I’m Hinata, future hero of Karasuno! And this is Kageyama, he’s my seer.”

“Mmhmmm. How did you find us? This place is hidden by powerful magic.”

Hinata shrugged, “I just kind of followed Kageyama.”

“I just… knew. I’m a seer, I just kind of knew where to go. I can see Hinata’s future, so I followed it.”

“So Noya was right! You are the missing Ada!”

“Bokuto, sit down,” Akaashi sighed, turning back to the boys. “We’ll address your status with the Caelia later. Tell us what brings you to our door.”

Asahi couldn’t have braced himself for Hinata’s announcement. Even if he had an inkling of what he was going to say, even if his gut was screaming it, the words still knocked the air from his lungs.

“Karasuno has fallen. We need the guardian deity now more than ever.”

Noya grappled for Asahi’s hand under the table, absentmindedly trying to ground the both of them.

“Where’s Koushi,” Oikawa blurted as if he’d been holding back the question all day.

“Koushi?” Hinata blinked back at him.

“Sugawara,” Kageyama glared back at Oikawa, protective of his senior’s given name.

“Oh. Suga’s been captured.”

Asahi gripped Noya’s hand just short of the point of pain. His lungs turned to lead in his chest.

“But don’t worry, Asahi! I made Aone promise to take care of him. He’ll keep him safe.”

“Aone?! Hinata are you mad?!” Asahi was on his feet, dragging Noya with him. “That man’s a— a beast! A monster! He almost killed me! He’ll rip Suga to shreds!”

Oikawa rose next to him, leaning forward to address Noya, “is this true? Is this Aone the guy? And he has Koushi?!” Noya nodded solemnly. “I take back what I said, Noya. Destroy him. Destroy all of them. If you don’t do it, I’ll take the mantle and do it myself.” He grabbed Asahi’s other hand with a firm tug.

“Nononono— Aone— Listen! Aone’s not a monster. He’s a scared kid. He just wants to keep his family safe, same as us,” Hinata pleaded.

“If he hurts a single hair on Sugawara’s head— if anyone lays a finger on him— they’re all dead.” Asahi’s growl sent chills through the room.

Noya tugged on his arm, firm but gentle. “Grab your sword, we have a Thunderbird to slay first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Aone and Tanaka so. Damn. Much.


	4. Atonement & The Final Test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming to terms with defeat and moving forward.

They had no shame.

It started when they invaded the mountains. Men came from the west attempting to tame what was never meant to be mastered. They killed whatever they could catch, disrupting the balance of the forest. Any spirit that attempted to intercede was included in the to-kill list. When the inhabitants of the Ever Green Mountains finally repelled the humans, the damage had been done. Entire families of spirits had dwindled dramatically— some were gone entirely. That Ada kid should have taken that personally, being the last of his kind, but no— he insisted on protecting the little people of the West Valley.

Ushijima cast another grimace to the tattered and scorched mantle. The burnt edges of its adorning feathers curled and withered. The sight of it made him sick: an item of great power and lineage, misused in the favor of humanity. It hurt him to destroy such an artifact, but he couldn’t let its legacy be further tarnished. In its current state it served as nothing more than an Ada family heirloom.

Apparently that didn’t stop the tiny self-proclaimed guardian from trying to get it back.

“The snake ghosted me,” Tendou pouted, “and I haven’t been able to spot the little crow since his suicide jump with the human.”

“They’ve probably made it to the Caelia by now.” Ushijima peered over his shoulder to gauge the cockatrice’s reaction.

Tendou had settled into his willowy humanoid shape, allowing him to properly wrap his feathered arms around himself. He looked more ashamed than frustrated. He broke into a grin when he caught Ushijima’s gaze. “I’ll keep looking.”

It was exactly that lighthearted determination that Ushijima had depended on for the length of their partnership. He didn’t have time for underlings that begged for mercy. Tendou cut right to the chase in finding solutions.

“Don’t bother. When they emerge they’ll come straight to me. Stay by my side.” It was meant to be an order, though the softness in his tone gave him away.

Tendou’s reactive smirk would have taunted him if it weren’t accompanied by the faint coloring of his cheeks.

Ushijima banished the chill that ran up his spine. Once the humans were wiped from the valley, Tendou would go back to reclaim the desert home they stole from him. Ushijima would stay in the mountains. They’d both go back to where they belonged. It was inevitable.

He took a deep breath to steady his thoughts. Electricity crackled across his arms. Iridescent wings unfolded around him as the Thunderbird took to the sky.

-

The gloom weighed heavy in the air as Noya descended the stairs to the training room. They weren’t fools, they knew what they were training for, but the past couple of days had been _nice_.

Asahi had sparred with Iwaizumi and Kuroo. Noya worked on his rehabilitation with Bokuto and Akaashi. When they were spent for the day, Asahi taught Kenma to make human food. Oikawa would tell stories over dinner. The slept in plush beds, stars twinkling through the skylight. It was safe, comfortable, and healing.

It was the Caelia. A holy place for pilgrims and heroes to rest before the final uphill stretch of their journey. They had known that. Knowing it didn’t dampen the dread they felt towards that final test.

Noya found Asahi standing quietly in the dark of the training room. He could see the muscles of his back tense as he steeled himself to lift his sword from the rack. He wouldn’t be returning it this time.

“You know you’re not going alone, right?” He hung back, wanting to stay in the light of the hallway.

“Do you really think I can do it? Slay a Thunderbird?”

“I won’t blame you if you can’t. Just promise me you won’t give up.”

Asahi turned to face him, drawing the sword from its place with a fluid motion. With a heavy nod, the two turned back upstairs.

Hinata and Kageyama shrank awkwardly as Oikawa pinned them under a suspicious glare. The relief on their faces as Asahi re-emerged made the man laugh.

“Asahi, Noya, we prepared a few things for your trip,” Akaashi presented them with two small packs.

“Look!” Bokuto grabbed two loops of beads from the packs with a grin. “Akaashi made these for you!”

They each took a string. Asahi turned the delicate beads between his fingers. Each bead was hand formed, petroglyphs carefully etched in the fired clay.

“They’ll protect you from curses,” Akaashi explained. “Cockatrice aren’t native to the mountains. Given the timing, it’s likely it’s working with the Thunderbird. You’re likely to run into him again. This will prevent you from turning to stone. Noya, it should also prevent the lightning from sealing your form.”

“Wait, where’s ours?” Hinata peered over Noya’s shoulder.

“You’re not coming.” Noya left no room for argument. His shoulders tensed at the thought.

“But I want to help! Tell him, Asahi. I might be small, but you know I have what it takes!”

Asahi turned to his protégé, a solid hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Hinata, I need you to go back to Karasuno. They need a hero. I can handle this.”

“You need to keep Tobio safe,” Noya scowled over his shoulder.

“I don’t need Hinata to keep me safe. You don’t know what I’m capable of. I’m not a little baby anymore.”

“Hey!” Oikawa barked, stepping between Kageyama and Noya. “How about this: I don’t care who you are. If you’re as capable as you say you are, go save Koushi.”

“Could you do that for me, Hinata?” Asahi scrambled to reclaim the room before a fight broke out. “I need you to make sure they’re safe. Suga and everyone else. They’re counting on you.”

Hinata’s expression turned stony, focused, as he nodded. Anxiety churned in Asahi’s gut. He might not have been blessed with Sight, but anyone could see the hero emerging in young Hinata with every challenge he faced. He only could hope that s glimmer of Hinata’s childlike innocence survived to see the end of the war.

“Oikawa, please take care of Tobio and his friend until they’re ready to return home,” Noya bowed to the head of the Caelia.

He laughed in response. “That’s a kneeling kind of request, don’t you think?”

“Don’t kneel.” Iwaizumi interrupted before Noya could bend his knee. “Ratty-kawa’s just being a brat. We’ll make sure Tobio is cared for.”

“It’s our job as the guard. He is a member of the Caelia, after all,” Kuroo agreed.

“Ahh! That sounds cool. Can I be a guard too?” Hinata’s short lived seriousness broke, the boy bouncing on his toes in excitement.

Bokuto laughed, taking him under his arm. “Come back after this is all cleared up and I’ll train you personally.”

“Thank you,” Asahi couldn’t help but smile. Despite the dangers looming ahead, these people gave him hope.

Kuroo returned his smile with an encouraging nod. “You’ll be able to find us if you need us. Hopefully you won’t.”

The forest felt fresh as the duo stepped out into the daylight. The gloom of their failures gave way to new hope.

-

“Bold of you to go digging through my stuff,” Futakuchi couldn’t hold back a laugh when he opened his tent to find Sugawara’s nose in his journals.

The silver-haired man couldn’t be bothered to flinch. “Not sure what you expected, letting me roam free and unsupervised like this.”

“Find anything interesting?” The chief shed his armor at the door. The bulky attire left a ghost against Futakuchi’s otherwise soot-smeared skin. Suga would laugh at how ridiculous he looked if he wasn’t well aware of the soot’s origins. The charred bones of Karasuno left those marks.

“Well, your alphabet is different than ours. I thought that was pretty interesting. Same spoken word, different in writing, it took me a little to decode it. I like it. It’s simpler than ours.”

“I guess we have to be more efficient.” Futakuchi took a course woolen rag to his skin, buffing away the soot. Under all of the grime, the man wasn’t necessarily terrible looking. In a fair fight, Suga felt pretty confident in his chances. Futakuchi caught his gaze. “You don’t look concerned.”

“Should I be?” He couldn’t help a snarky smirk as his eyes made an obvious pass up and down Futakuchi’s frame.

“Really? You’re taken prisoner of war, held in the leader’s tent, your people have fallen, and you’re just…?” He waved a vague hand over Suga’s relaxed sprawl across his bed.

“I’m sorry if you were expecting a crying damsel in distress.”

“Let me guess, the great and mighty Seer of Karasuno told you you’d be fine.”

“Basically,” Suga turned back to the journal in his hand. “You keep misspelling ‘conquest.’”

“What else did the seer say?”

“It’s c-o-n-q-u-e-s-t, not c-u-n-k-w-e-s-t.”

“Different writing can mean different spellings. Tell me what the seer said to put you at ease or I’ll— I’ll kill Sawamura.” Futakuchi crossed his arms, not unlike a child throwing a tantrum.

Sugawara leveled him with a mischievous smile and a shrug, “we all die.”

-

They’d reached the junction of the next mountain before they set up camp. Honestly, Asahi felt like he could keep going. Energy still coursed through his limbs like fire. They only stopped at Noya’s insistence.

“It won’t do us any good if you use up your energy now.”

As much as he wanted to argue, Asahi couldn’t. The people of Karasuno were strong. They could hold out a little longer if it gave him a better chance to saving them.

The bedrolls Akaashi had packed them were a dream. Compact and lightweight, but downy against the forest floor. They unrolled them side-by-side, laying down to peer through an opening in the tree canopy.

“What’re you going to do after this?” Asahi nudged Noya’s shoulder with his own, not ready to let him fall asleep. “You said Kageyama was the last of your family, right? Are you going to come down and stay with him?”

“Tobio needs to return to the Caelia. I can’t follow him there,” he could hear the pout on Noya’s lips. “You’re gonna run back to Suga, aren’t you. He _has_ to take you back after you defeat a _Thunderbird_.”

Asahi honestly gave himself a moment to shamelessly imagine it. Returning to Karasuno triumphant, celebrated. God, the sparkle in Suga’s eyes, beaming with pride. His little secluded house outside of town would be so much brighter with Suga’s laughter.

But it would be brightest with Noya’s.

The mental image turned colors before he realized it— from the soft cool colors of Suga’s smile to the warmth of Noya’s energy. He could see himself introducing the smaller man to Daichi. Tanaka would be overjoyed to meet him. They’d be fast friends.

And Suga. He’d introduce Noya to Suga and the starlit seer would give him a knowing, peaceful smile. They’d both be alleviated from the awkwardness of their breakup.

“No. No, I’m very sure Suga and I are over.”

“You sure go on about him enough,” Noya mumbled.

“He’s my friend. I still care about him. I’m more surprised by Oikawa’s reaction. How does he know Suga? He’s never mentioned him.”

Noya turned from the star-studded sky to study Asahi’s face. “How did you meet Suga? Do you know how he came to your village?”

“He just kind of showed up when we were kids. I grew up with our current chief, Daichi, as my best friend. One day Suga just kind of… showed up. We went to Daichi’s nanny’s to play and The Elder Sawamura had put her in charge of two strange kids— Suga and Kageyama. Kageyama was just a baby, but Suga was about our age,” Asahi laughed at the memory, “Daichi _hated_ him. He was so jealous that his nanny was taking care of other kids. He would always try to get me to scare Suga off.”

“Didn’t do a very good job.”

“No, not really. Suga just had to look at me wrong for me to get scared and start to cry.” Asahi turned to meet Noya’s gaze. Surprisingly, he found he enjoyed lying face-to-face more than he did looking up at the stars. Better yet, he seemed to have put a smile on Noya’s lips.

“Koushi belongs to the Caelia. He’s fae blessed, same as Tobio. He was Oikawa’s friend first. The two were thick as thieves.”

“Then why—“

“There was an accident. Technically. At least according to Oikawa it was an accident, but I’m pretty sure he only feels bad because Koushi— Suga— got involved.” Noya’s envy was rooted deep by now. He didn’t see why everyone in his life was crazy for this Suga guy.

He took a deep breath and continued, “the Ada were nearing extinction— at least in this part of the world. Most were fleeing as humans encroached on our sacred spaces. Mass numbers of flocks were being abandoned—“

“Wait, back up, ignorant human here.” Asahi at least had the decency to look ashamed. The people of Karasuno were only raised with reverence for their guardian. The rest of the mountains’ inhabitants remained an enigma.

“Ada are crow spirits. Spirits are burdened with protecting and controlling their charges. We’re basically ambassadors between fae, humans, other spirits, and the animals we represent.That’s why the Caelia is so important. The fae formed a committee of diverse spirits, blessed and united for the good of the mountains.

“So when you said you were going out to stretch your wings with Bokuto—“

“What else could I have possibly meant. Keep up.” Noya rolled his eyes, but his smile wasn’t unkind. “Anyway, most of the Ada fled until it was just the royal family and a few stragglers. The crow population was becoming unruly. In an attempt to find balance, the fae blessed the crown prince and took him to the Caelia. Tobio got all sorts of special treatment and he was only a baby. Most of the members had to find their calling later in life.”

“Why have I never seen you as a crow?”

“My form was locked when I was attacked. The lightning cursed me. Anyway! Oikawa was apparently jealous of this teeny tiny fat baby. He was always picking on Tobio. The fae had already chosen Oikawa as next in line to lead the Caelia, but then Tobio’s blessing started escalating and they changed their mind. ‘Kawa was furious. He threw Tobio from the mountain before anyone could stop him.”

“Who attacked you?”

“The Thunderbird. What else has cursed lightning? But Tobio was just a toddler— a little ball of downy fluff. He didn’t have a single flight feather yet, so he dropped like a rock. Koushi dove to save him. Oikawa tried to stop him but it was too late— they’d already landed in the human’s domain.”

“Why did the Thunderbird attack you?”

“Because I’m Nishinoya Yuu, Asahi!” The exclamation came out harsher than intended. He felt a pang of guilt at Asahi’s flinch. “I’m your failure of a guardian deity. I couldn’t save Tobio myself because I was chained to that mountain— and for what? I ended up failing Karasuno anyway.”

Asahi froze. He supposed he expected a mountain of a man— someone more like Tanaka or Bokuto. He definitely hadn’t expected the guardian to have been right in front of him the whole time. “You?”

“I know, I know, you’re thinking I’m just a little crow spirit. But Karasuno were our chosen people! Our tribe! We led them through the desert to this safe haven and they worshipped us for it. Karasuno’s long forgotten their patronage to the Ada— but I still kept my end of the deal generation after generation. I kept them _safe_.”

“Then why are you helping me? Like Bokuto said, you’re free now. You can go where you want, do what you want. The Thunderbird set you free.” He hoped he didn’t sound ungrateful. Noya had saved his life time and time again— even before they met. He couldn’t ask him to go back to a life of divine chains.

Color crept over Noya’s expression, barely noticeable in the dim moonlight. “I— you, Asahi. Because of you.” He had half a mind to hide him face in his bedroll, but thought better of it. “Generations of watching Karasuno from afar and there’s never been anyone like you. I was keeping an eye on Tobio and you were there, in that house, encouraging him from day one. You were supposed to be hanging out with your friends, making mud pies and playing war, but instead you taught Tobio to talk. You held his hand when he took his first step. I was scared— my crown prince, the last of my people, was at the mercy of a forgetful and traitorous humanity— but then you were there.”

Now it was Asahi’s turn to shy away. For a moment he feared the heat of his face would catch fire. “I’m just— I was just being—“

“A hero. The hero of Karasuno. The hero of my people. My hero.” Noya grinned. Part of him wanted to continue goading Asahi to see if humans could spontaneously combust. “And I’m your guardian.”

“Are you really okay with taking back the mantle when this is all over? Don’t you want your freedom?”

“Nothing’s cooler than being a deity. Why would I do anything else?”

Asahi wasn’t convinced, but dropped the topic as sleep claimed them.

-

Late summer heat turned his prison into an oven. Daichi attempted to wipe the sweat from his eyes with his shoulder, arms bound behind his back. Karasuno never had use for an elaborate detainment center. Their small crumbling prison didn’t meet Dateko standards, resulting in excessive bondage for the captives.

“Futakuchi’s gone back to camp to spend time with your mistress,” his jailer sneered, “are you sure you don’t know where your seer is?”

“Suga’s not my mistress and he’s no damsel. He can handle himself. Let my people go and we’ll work with you.”

“Sorry, no, we just need the seer.” The towering man delivered a harsh jab with the butt of his weapon, catching Daichi’s lower rib with dangerous force. It took all of the fallen chief’s self control to keep from shouting as his body folded in on itself. “Holler if you change your mind.”

With the slam of a door, Daichi was left alone again. He wished this could be someone else’s problem just for a day. The burden of chief weighed heavily on his shoulders. The fate of his people was too much for him to bare alone. It felt like every decision he had made in this war had been the wrong one. Daichi just wanted one thing to go right.

That’s when the clay wall outside his cell caved in.

“Hahah!” A rather dusty Tanaka ducked through the newly formed wall.

“I _told_ you it was weak there. That wall’s relatively new. Stop flexing, it wasn’t that hard.” Yui shoved him out of the way with a smile. “Daichi! You’re okay!”

“That’s a bit of a stretch, but yes, I’m alive.” He couldn’t help but grin at his rescuers. “A little beaten, way overheated, and I’m pretty sure I’ll faint if I try to stand, but I’m alive.”

Tanaka rattled at bars making up the cell walls. “Come on, we’re breaking you out.”

“The welding’s weak at this joint here,” Yui squatted to inspect it, “if you bend below it, it should bend enough for him to crawl under.”

Daichi abandoned his pride, walking on his knees to the spot. He flopped on his side with a thud. Tanaka took one of the bars in both hands while Daichi braced his feet against the other. Together they worked on widening the gap between.

Foot steps echoed down the hall. “That’s going to have to be enough. Daichi, I hope they haven’t been over feeding you,” Yui teased.

“It’s been only two course meals everyday. Absolute torture,” he deadpanned. “I _need_ my soup and salad course, Yui.”

Tanaka leaned through the gap to cut the bonds on Daichi’s arms. Daichi followed him back through, squeezing his torso before getting caught on his hips.

“Dammit man, I told you to cool it with the squats. Your thighs are bigger than the rest of you,” Tanaka teased as he lifted Daichi by his underarms. Daichi had to hide his yelp as the bars tore through his trousers, scraping his skin. Yui led them out the way they had come just as footsteps started down the stairs.

The series of tunnels led them out into the back gardens. To Daichi’s wide-eyed surprise, the sage was in full bloom. Optimistic yellow and green stood out against the gloom. Despite the invasion, someone was still taking immaculate care of the garden. He’d have to make a note to recognize the gardener when this was over.

It took a couple of stolen head scarves and a lot of dodging between buildings, but they managed to escape to the outskirts of town. Asahi’s home remained untouched since it was only occupied by those Dateko had considered unthreatening. The three breathed a sigh of relief as caretakers greeted them at the gate.

“Oh my god, Daichi,” a woman he barely knew gathered him in his arms. He didn’t realize how tired he was until they were no longer in danger. His knees gave out as he accepted her support.

“Where’s Suga?” Was all he managed to mumble before passing out. He didn’t want to hear the answer anyway.

-

They didn’t rest for long until Kageyama was all but pushing Hinata back down the mountain. To the smaller boy’s dismay, he realized all too late that the seer was steering them towards the enemy encampment.

“Why’re we—?”

“I have to get Suga out of there,” Kageyama explained between panted breaths. “I— My— my sight has expanded. I saw him. Whatever Asahi’s doing, it’s going down soon. We have to get him away from Dateko.”

“Then Aone—“

Kageyama made a sour face. “If we warn him, he’ll try to save his friends. We need to end this war, Hinata.”

The young hero scowled, but held his retort.

They reached the edge of camp unhindered. The bulk of Dateko’s forces were occupying Karasuno. The camp was slowly dissolving as Dateko made more permanent accommodations in town. One tent still stood strong, guarded by two men who looked like they could be intimidating… if they weren’t laughing at the starlight blonde leaning in the doorway between them.

“Are you kidding me?” Kageyama grumbled. “He’s just… hanging out over here?”

Hinata shrugged. “Sugawara’s easy to get along with. You didn’t expect him to sit and mope, did you?”

“I mean— no, but—“

“Ooooh, you’re jealous ‘cause you could never get people to like you like that with that nasty personality of yours.”

“Shuddup, dumbass!” Kageyama shoved the boy.

“Tobio! What! Are you doing here?!”

The two younger boys looked up to find themselves pinned in place by three sets of eyes. Suga stomped over to them like a disappointed mother hen. Hinata kept a nervous eye on the guards, but they didn’t seem worried. They were still laughing at whatever joke Suga had told them.

“You’re supposed to be somewhere safe, not wandering into enemy encampments,” Suga whispered, “are they watching me?”

Hinata shook his head slowly, still side-eyeing the guards.

“Okay, good. I’ve been trying to get them to drop their guard just in case I had an opportunity like this. Slowly. Let’s move slowly. Casually. Act natural. We’ll just walk away. Be prepared to run.” He slung an arm over each of the boys, turning them away from camp as if they were going for a leisurely stroll. “Did you do it, were you able to reach Asahi?”

“Mmhmm,” Hinata nodded, still too scared to talk. His stomach tossed, threatening to spill it’s contents. The hairs on his neck stood on end, the enemy behind them all too close for his liking.

“He’ll be there soon,” Kageyama confirmed. “He found an ally. They’re going to face the Thunderbird.”

“And the deity?”

The younger seer shrugged. “I’m confident he’ll figure it out.”

“Hey!”

“Wait!”

“That didn’t last as long as I hoped. Go!” Suga gave them a push forward as he quickened his own pace.

Hinata took advantage of his height to duck under Suga’s grasp.

“Shouyo—!” Suga stumbled before Kageyama grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

“He’ll be alright! I told him not to, but he’s inevitable. We have to go.”

The thought of leaving the young boy in enemy hands made Suga’s stomach turn, but he had to trust Tobio. Of all people, especially when it came to Hinata, he had to trust Tobio. He couldn’t bare to look back as they continued their race to the eastern foothills.

Hinata swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. He had to be a hero. He had to be brave. This was the first step.

_survive._

They promised. They promised to survive. He wasn’t about to let Aone break that promise.

One of the guards slowed to a trot when they realized Hinata had stopped, turning to face them. The other tried to run around the kid in pursuit of the fleeing seers only to have Hinata lash out to trip him.

“Oh— sh— sorry! I didn’t mean to actually hurt you!” He flustered as the guard’s face hit the rocky ground. “It was an accident!” panic course through his limbs as the remaining guard secured his arms.

“You—“ the fallen guard lifted himself tentatively, blood dripping from his nose. “Who do you think you are?!”

Before he could let himself consider the consequences, Hinata blurted out “I’m the hero of Karasuno and I demand to speak with Aone.”

He immediately regretted it.

They should kill him where he stood. Who wouldn’t take an opportunity like this to kill their opponent’s number one fighter?

They did worse.

They laughed at him.

“You? You’re barely up to my armpit.”

“You’re no thicker than a fence post.”

“You almost threw up at the sight of us.”

“You apologized for breaking his nose.”

Shame kept him quiet, his face burning red, as the guards hauled him back to camp. He at least had the peace of mind knowing he’d given Kageyama and Suga time to escape. Now he just had to save Aone.

-

In the heart of the mountain range, the highest peak split into two, creating a cradle from which the entire valley could be viewed to the west. Nestled between the peaks, Tendou could see everything that’d been taken from him. The desert stretched out, flat and sandy, between the mountains. It was perfect, safe. It was home. It had been. To be honest, he missed it.

To the east, a new adventure beckoned him. Tall evergreens gave way to thick, leafy trees. A seemingly endless expanse of water laid on the horizon.

He had braved this mountain, befriended a Thunderbird, in hopes of reclaiming his former home. In the process, he’d fallen in love with the lush green on the other side. Tendou was restless. Ushijima had done so much to help him; he felt guilty yearning for other horizons.

The Thunderbird in question was sleeping peacefully on his thigh, curled up like a child. The man seemed entirely clueless to his fearsome reputation. While he didn’t seem bothered by the solitude it brought him, Tendou was definitely annoyed that this child-like man was alone for so long.

They could run away. It wasn’t too late. All he had to do was tell Ushijima that he no longer wanted everything he’d worked so hard for. Ushijima, fiercely loyal, had pledged everything to avenging Tendou’s losses. It felt like a betrayal to take that sacrifice for granted.

That wasn’t going to happen. He couldn’t do that to him.

He absentmindedly tangled his fingers in the sleeping man’s hair, looking over the green horizon with a sigh.

Still.

They could run away.

-

For a powerful leader of a powerful nation, Daichi enjoyed the softer things in life. He liked fruit for breakfast with soft bread. His favorite blanket was old and worn. It still smelled like childhood to him. His days didn’t go right unless he started them by watching the sun rise. Watching the desert go from dark and colorless to vivid and warm— he felt his self come alive, reborn every morning.

This put the sunrise to shame.

Watching Koushi crest the hill before Asahi’s plot, Daichi felt his chest release a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He was whole, unbroken. He was smiling with Kageyama next to him. The red of the nearby cliff faces grew bolder. Daichi could swear the sage at his feet spontaneously blossomed; yellow erupted at the corners of his vision.

A sharp elbow in his ribs was the only assurance he wasn’t dreaming.

“Well, go to him,” Yui barely held back her laughter. “This is your big reunion scene.”

He tried to run, but his body was still stubbornly recovering from imprisonment. He caught himself on his knees with a wince. Yui’s steady hands helped him back to his feet, a gentle shove at his back encouraging him to try again. With little regard to his wounded pride, he stumbled forward only to see Suga running for him full-force.

God, he was a vision. A mirage, maybe. Daichi wouldn’t be surprised if he phased right through the man. It seemed unreal that he was here. He was running, unhindered, unharmed, towards Daichi with a grin on his face and arms outstretched. Daichi braced himself to eat dust as his tired knees gave out. He prepared to pass through Suga’s swooping embrace only to fall firmly against the man’s solid chest.

Slender arms hooked under his own, helping him back to his feet. Daichi didn’t bother stepping back. He indulged in the moment, burying his face in the crook of Suga’s neck, clinging to his back for dear life. He shamelessly inhaled, letting the smell of Suga’s hair ground him.

“Hey,” Koushi’s laugh sounded too soft for the situation, “are you snorting me?”

“Let me have this,” the pout was evident in his voice. “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again. Just…”

“Hmmm,” Suga’s breath danced across his neck as he reciprocated the hug. Daichi felt goosebumps break out across his skin as soft lips pressed under his ear. “I’m okay. I’m here. You’re here. We’re okay.”

“Did they… did they hurt you?”

“No, no, shhhh… Futakuchi was a perfect gentleman. He’s all bark no bite.” It took some effort for Suga to untangle himself from Daichi’s clutches as he attempted to hold the man back and give him a once over. “Doesn’t look like you got the same treatment.”

“His henchmen have plenty of bite, unfortunately,” Daichi’s laugh was tinged with bitterness. “But I’m okay. It’s nothing that won’t heal with time.”

Sugawara refused to take his word for it, hands patting down Daichi’s ribs, eyes searching for any sign of discomfort. As much as Daichi protested being removed from Suga’s embrace, he quickly found himself lost in those doe eyes.

Completing an inventory of Daichi’s ribs, the worry fled Suga’s face. He punched the man’s shoulder maybe a little too roughly. “Stop it, you sap. You’re looking at me like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Daichi stumbled back from the impact, grabbing Suga’s shoulders to keep from falling. He only succeeded in bringing Suga down with him. With as much grace as he could muster, Suga caught himself before his full weight fell on Daichi’s chest, hands on either side of the man’s head.

It took a moment for them to catch their breath before they burst into laughter.

They were okay. Displaced, dethroned, and sore, but okay.

Daichi ran his fingers through Suga’s starlight hair, bringing him closer until he could feel Suga’s laugh ghost across his skin. He hesitated. Suga didn’t. Still smiling, he nipped Daichi’s lip before settling down in a clumsy kiss.

It was like watching the sunrise: Daichi felt himself come to life, reborn, under the heat of Suga’s attention. He didn’t know how he had survived on simple oxygen for so long when Suga’s breath made his nerves sing.

There were fingers carding through his cropped hair. Soft lips, still smiling, parted against his own. Noses bumped. Daichi never imagined how delicate the back of Suga’s neck would feel under his palm. He wanted to know what the rest of his back felt like. He needed to know— hand caressing encouraging circles down his spine— he had to know what it felt like without the linen in the way.

“I’m here too.”

It was over far too soon as Kageyama interrupted their moment. Every inch of him protested as Suga’s weight lifted, but Daichi’s back would thank him later as the seer helped him rise from the rocky ground.

“And it’s good to see you safe,” He gave the younger man a firm pat on the back, “but you weren’t supposed to leave the safety of camp to begin with.”

“Don’t be too disappointed in him, Daichi, he did what needed to be done. Come on, we have some catching up to do.”

“Then let’s head inside so you can fill me in.” With an arm slung around each seer, Daichi led them back towards the cabin.

Suga tried to avoid Yui’s eyes when she met them halfway, suddenly self-conscious. It wasn’t like he had _planned_ on kissing her husband senseless— fantasized about it, yes, but this wasn’t supposed to actually happen. _Especially_ not in front of his wife.

He could feel her eyes on him. He saw her feet fall into step next to him. Ever so gently, he felt the warmth of her hand envelop his own, coaxing him to relax until she could thread their fingers together.

“I’m really glad you’re safe, Koushi. I’m really glad you’re here.”

Just like that, he felt his shoulders relax. His lungs regained their full capacity. This was okay. They were okay.

The sun set while they sat around the small dining table, flooding the kitchen with golden light. Daichi gave a brief review of his imprisonment. Yui shared what she and Tanaka had observed around town. By the time Sugawara had finished sharing what he’d learned from Futakuchi, Kageyama was all but shaking in his seat.

“They have Hinata,” he finally blurted. “When we went to save Suga, Hinata intercepted them. They have him.”

“Will they hurt him,” Daichi turned his full attention to the boy, stony faced.

Kageyama shifted uncomfortably, “n-not that I’ve seen. No.”

“But you _have_ seen Hinata’s future after the war, right?” Suga gave him what he hoped was an encouraging smile. Kageyama nodded slowly. “And your sight has always been infallible?” Another nod. “Then I think right now we have to trust Hinata. Why don’t you tell us about Asahi.”

The younger man nodded dutifully. “Sugawara, do you remember the Caelia?”

The sun set as Kageyama recalled everything he’d experienced on the mountain. Suga peered at him as if trying to remember a dream he once had. The effort was giving him a headache and he was all too aware of Daichi’s wide-eyed look burning into the side of his face.

“Do you know what Asahi’s planning?” Yui’s eyes were glued to Kageyama, oblivious to the uncomfortable men beside her.

“I think his friend— Noya— I think he knows what to do.”

“Noya— like as in Nishinoya?”

“I… guess?” Kageyama blinked at the woman as she all but vibrated with excitement.

“Like Nishinoya Yuu?”

“I don’t know, they just called him Noya.”

“Yui, what is it?” Suga turned to really study her face. She looked about ready to burst.

“The Evening Sun That Sets in the Western Valley— did they really not tell you guys this story as kids? It’s him, he’s the guardian! Asahi found him!”

“He didn’t look like much of a guardian,” Kageyama mumbled, gesturing a short height with his hands.

“And Hinata doesn’t look like much of a hero, but that’s part of what makes him a great one. Not everyone is as they seem.” Daichi tried not to glance at Suga. Suga flinched regardless.

“What’s he like, Kageyama? Is he brave? Strong?” Yui was still rapt in the young man’s story.

Kageyama shrunk slightly at the attention. “He’s… short. Young, about your age by the look of it. Very energetic and intense.”

“Does he really have crow’s wings?”

“Wait— Yui, wait. Crow’s wings?” Daichi interrupted the interview with an outstretched palm. “What kind of story is this?”

She groaned in frustration. “Well while _you_ were busy antagonizing Sugawara as a child, I was actually listening to Nanny Ukai’s stories. The guardian deity, The Evening Sun That Sets in the Western Valley, is a crow spirit. The crows were the ones who led the original settlers of Karasuno to this valley. They appointed one of their spirits to protect us— stationing him on the mountains to the East and naming him for the people he protects.”

“So Asahi Azumane—“

“The Morning Sun that Rises Over the Eastern Mountains. His mom named him for the guardian, that was on purpose,” Daichi clarified, “she thought it would lead him to greatness with the guardian’s favor.”

“Must have worked. Noya gave him the same look you give Daichi, Suga— ow!”

“Koushi, don’t kick your brother,” Yui scolded with all the tone of a fed-up mother, but humor softened her expression.

“To answer your question: no. I didn’t see anything crow-like about him. Except apparently I’m one of them— the crow spirits? Noya kept going on and on about it, that I’m one of the last crow spirits and I have to go back to the Caelia for protection. But I’ve never sprouted wings, so…”

“You’ve never _tried_ to sprout wings though, have you?” Yui countered.

“Well, no.”

“You’ve never seen yourself as anything but human, so of course you’d keep a human form. This doesn’t make you any less human,” Daichi reassured the younger man. Suga felt his tension ease.

“What… what about me, Tobio? What am I?”

“I— They didn’t tell me, Suga, I’m sorry. That Oikawa guy was super passionate about getting you back though. He’s like their leader or something, so you must be something pretty important. You can ask him when we go back.”

“Suga’s one of us, he’s not going anywhere,” Daichi flinched at his own tone before he’d even finished his thought. “I mean— he doesn’t have to go if he doesn’t want to. It doesn’t matter what he is, he belongs here. Unless you wanted to go! I won’t stop you find finding out—“ his face grew redder as he stumbled to correct himself in every direction.

“When this is all over, I’ll meet with this Oikawa,” Suga agreed, “but I’m not promising anything. My duty is to Karasuno.”

“I don’t think he’d let you leave.”

“Then our next war would be with the fae,” Daichi promised. Suga shivered at the danger in his voice.

-

Asahi had never seen snow up close before. Late in the year, he’d watched from afar as the mountain tops turned a dappled white. He’d heard _of_ snow. A few years before his birth, there’d been a small snowfall in the valley. No one had seen a flake since. It was the stuff of legends.

He decidedly didn’t like the way it soaked through his clothes and left him shivering. He pulled his cloak tight around his throat, but still the cold persisted.

“Is it going to be like this the rest of the way?”

“We’re in the shadow of another mountain right now,” Noya assured him, “it’ll be sunnier ahead. But this is good. This means we’re close. If you’re cold, you can carry me piggy-back. I’ll keep you warm.”

Despite his cheeky, joking smile, Asahi honestly considered Noya’s offer. The shorter man was obviously having difficulty wading through the snow that reached halfway to his knees. Having a second source of body heat under his cloak would be nice. The thought of Noya’s limbs wrapped around his back— he had to look away.

“W-why don’t you just turn into a crow? Then you wouldn’t have to struggle to walk in the snow. You could perch on my shoulder.”

“Because I like relating to you as a human. It’d be weird if I was a crow. I can’t even talk,” he grabbed Asahi’s cloak to slow his pace through the snow. “Let me in. I’m warmer like this anyway.”

Before he could protest, Noya had pried the cloak from his hands, opening the front. The sudden rush of cold air made goosebumps break out across Asahi’s skin. The cold air. For sure. But his excuse was soon replaced by Noya pulling the cloak closed around the two of them.

“See, it’s much warmer with two. You should carry me. I know you’re strong enough to,” Noya teased as his fingers prodded Asahi’s tensed arms.

Noya’s legs were locked around his hips before Asahi even realized he’d lifted the smaller man. Slim, toned arms wrapped around his neck as Noya rested his head on Asahi’s shoulder. The hero pulled the cloak tight around the two of them before journeying on.

“This isn’t piggy-back, Asahi.”

The grin in Noya’s voice sent pinpricks down Asahi’s spine. He pretended to ignore it as he kept on.

Occasionally he’d feel Noya slipping down his hips. It took all of his effort to keep a straight face as he supported his bottom as the smaller man readjusted. He could swear Noya was wiggling around more than what was absolutely necessary.

“What’re you going to do when this is all over?”

“I’ll go back to Karasuno, rebuild my orchard, and enjoy my retirement in peace.” Asahi tried to hide the tremor from his voice. He knew by now it was a lie. This was his destiny. There was nothing after this.

“Your bees are all safe, by the way,” Noya assured him, “I helped them find suitable temporary hives until you could rebuild yours. I’ll make sure they get back to you.”

“Thank you, Noya, that’s really sweet,” he shifted his weight again. The position was becoming increasingly awkward, though Noya seemed determined to not notice.

“What do you do with retirement? Isn’t that what old people do when they’re waiting to die?”

“Well, for me it means I won’t be a hero anymore. No more dangerous missions or near-death experiences. Just me, my bees, and my orchard far from everyone at the foot of the mountains.”

“You’ll still be a hero,” Noya grumbled into the crook of his neck. The heat of his breath curled around Asahi’s ear. “It’s just the way you are. You’ve always been.”

Asahi pulled the man closer under the guise of tightening the cloak against the wind. “I don’t want to fight people anymore.”

“There are more ways to be a hero than fighting. Sometimes heroes are just beekeepers who inspire others.”

“Hmmhm,” Asahi ducked as they cleared another patch of trees. The snow was thinner here, patches of pine needles peeking through. The sun warmed them. Snow melted from Asahi’s hair, trailing icy paths down his face.

Neither man moved to detach until they reached a small spring, water still bubbling under the ice. Asahi unpacked their lunches while Noya cleared a spot for them near the spring. They sat close, the large cloak spanning both of their shoulders. It wasn’t as cold here, but their trek through the snow was still soaked to their bones.

“You’re gonna try to negotiate with the Thunderbird, aren’t you.”

“What makes you say that? I’m perfectly capable of fighting! I’ve been practicing all this time, haven’t I?”

“You’re nervous. You’re righteous. Take your pick.”

“Talking to him won’t hurt, will it?”

“He hates humanity. You’re human. Any hesitation on your part and he’ll wipe you out.”

“There has to be a reason. A misunderstanding? A compromise?”

“He wants to give the valley back to the spirits. No one’s going to believe that humans and spirits can share. We’ve tried. It doesn’t work.”

“But we go together just fine. It’s a new generation and we can help! Come with me to Karasuno. You can live at my cabin and teach everyone to coexist.”

Noya glanced up to catch Asahi smiling down at him: eager, nervous, and flushed. He wanted to say yes, to finally join him down in the valley after decades of watching from afar. He wanted to know what prickly pear tasted like and how the stars looked when there was nothing but desert for miles and miles. He’d seen them dancing, but never heard the music. It was so tempting, especially with those big chocolate eyes looking at him so fondly.

But he could already feel the chains of obligation tightening across his wings.

“I have to stay on the mountain. I need to protect you.”

“Noya—“

“That’s non-negotiable. Tomorrow I reclaim my mantle. Today’s our last day—“ _together_. He bit back the end of his thought. It was too much weight.

He could feel Asahi’s stable form pressed against his side. He’d indulged in getting to know the man who was just supposed to be just a fantasy, an inspiration. That had been a mistake. Sending him back was going to hurt. Watching him age was going to be torture. Being chained to the mountaintop as his life came to it’s conclusion— Noya had made a mistake.

Today was their last day. He took a deep breath and carried the reminder with him for the rest of the hike.

-

Aone looked tired. Hinata had always imagined that a victorious hero would look, well, victorious. Aone looked like he hadn’t slept in days. He didn’t stir when the guards entered his chamber, Hinata carried between them. His somber gaze was locked out the window of the Sawamura home where sage spread a yellow carpet over the ground. The guards deposited Hinata on the floor and left, slamming the door behind them. They hadn’t even bothered to tie him up. He tried not to be offended by how much they underestimated him— it’s what made him a great decoy, after all.

“Umm… hi?” He shuffled his feet nervously, prepared for Aone to be disappointed in his recapture.

The man moved too suddenly. The chair made a horrible clatter as it was shoved aside. Hinata startled, falling back. Solid arms had wrapped around him before he could even lose his balance. His feet lifted from the ground, leaving him in a cocoon of muscles.

And laughter.

He couldn’t tell if it started in his own chest or the powerful chest holding him aloft, but both men were soon tearing up in relieved hysterics.

Aone had a nice laugh.

Hinata savored the way the baritone vibrated through him. He felt Aone’s laugh bone-deep. It made him want to laugh harder, but his lungs were reaching their limit. After what seemed like hours, Aone let him down, the two leaning on one another as they tried to stop chuckling long enough to catch their breaths.

“You’re alive,” Aone’s voice was muffled as he buried his face in Hinata’s hair. His hands still grasped Hinata’s shoulders with no indication of letting go any time soon. “You came back.”

“I had to make sure you were okay, you know, after you let me escape and everything.”

“So you let yourself be recaptured.”

“I have to return the favor,” Hinata stepped out of the embrace in order to hold eye contact with the taller man. “I’m here to help _you_ escape this time.”

“Me?”

Hinata nodded enthusiastically. “Our guardian deity is coming to set us free. Let me keep you safe.”

Aone broke their eye contact, looking anywhere but Hinata. “I need to stay by Futakuchi.”

“He brought this war on himself! There’s no reason you have to take the fall for him. Come with me, you deserve to live!” Frustration bubbled under his skin. “You promised. You promised me you’d survive.”

“I promised him first—“

“Fine! I get it, you wanna be some kind of martyr. Then I’m staying here with you.”

“Hinata—“

“If you try to send me away, I’ll just keep getting myself captured. What’re you gonna do about it? Tell everyone we’re friends? Hey!”

Aone lifted the petite man under one arm. Despite all of his struggling, Hinata couldn’t slip out of his grip as the larger man carried him down the hall.

“Aone! Put! Me! Down!”

He stopped at a sturdy door a small way down the hall, giving two firm knocks before letting himself in. Hinata panicked to see Futakuchi himself seated in the revealed room, staring at the two with wide eyes. Aone shut the door behind them before placing Hinata back on the floor.

“This is Hinata. He is my friend.”

“Aone!” He had half a mind to punch the mountain of a man.

“O…Kay?” Futakuchi blinked up at them, not entirely sure what to make of the situation.

“I like him.”

“That’s nice?”

“I want to make sure no one bothers him.”

“Okay, alright, I’ll make a note of it. Just keep him out of trouble.”

“So the guards will stop capturing him and returning him to me?”

“Oh hell no,” Futakuchi laughed, “consider yourselves as good as married. He’s your responsibility. That squirt isn’t leaving your sight.”

Aone could feel Hinata’s shit-eating grin without even looking next to him.

“But—“

“No buts, Aone. I can’t have this kid running around town and back and forth with the rebels. You gotta keep a leash on him.”

When Aone refused to look at him Hinata grabbed his hand, swinging their arms together as he teased, “see, now you can’t ever leave my side.”

“Now take your bride and go do as you will. I’ll send a footnote at the end of my next notice to keep shortie safe.”

Aone turned to drag Hinata back out of the room, face burning red.

“Don’t forget to carry him over the threshold!” Futakuchi managed to holler before the door slammed behind them.

“Well,” Hinata bumped him playfully, “aren’tcha gonna carry me?”

Aone swooped the smaller man into his arms, still refusing to meet his eyes. Even when turned away, his neck betrayed his flushed face. Hinata kept his own panic under wraps by laughing at Aone’s reactions. He’d gotten what he wanted— Aone was stuck with him. Maybe that’d be enough to thwart the guardian deity’s wrath.

His confidence only lasted so long until he realized Aone only had one bed.

-

Vermin weren’t uncommon, especially out here in the outskirts of town. They just weren’t usually this bold.

Suga woke gently from a pleasant dream. Sturdy arms held him from behind, Daichi’s solid warmth against his back. He didn’t mind sleeping on a thin mat on the floor if he got to wake up to this every morning.

Until his eyes focused and he was able to make out the rat staring back at him in the early morning light. The little critter seemed to be glaring at him from the edge of the mat, sitting on it’s haunches, front paws together as if it were judging him. Suga honestly wouldn’t be surprised if glass-hearted Asahi fed the rats around his cabin, making them fearless and expectant, but he hadn’t seen one around until today.

“What is it?” He whispered in annoyance, trying not to wake Daichi. “Are you hungry? I don’t have anything.”

“Huph!” The little body shook with a disgruntled sigh. “Mean, Koushi, sleeping with other men and talking down to me like that.”

“Ah!” Suga tried to jump back, only succeeding in startling Daichi awake. In blind panic, Daichi tightened his grasp like a vice, rolling on top to Suga until his eyes could focus and spot the danger. By the time they looked back up, the rat was replaced by a young man with a coy smile.

“You must be Daichi. You may call me Oikawa. I’m here for Koushi.”

-

The snow faded behind them just like Noya had predicted. The mountain air was thin, but the sun warmed their faces. The smell of pine was sweeter here, cleaner. It felt otherworldly, the Earth sprawled out behind them and the sky beyond.

They stashed their packs in a tree trunk. Asahi’s sword weighed heavily on his back.

Noya stretched his arms anxiously. “Feeling good?”

“With you by my side? Yes.”

“Good. Because we’re here.”

They crested a ridge of rock, stepping into the clearing between mountain peaks. Two men stood side-by-side, waiting ever so patiently.

“About time.”

-

“Oikawa’s gone.”

Kuroo thought Iwaizumi would sound a little more panicked. With a sigh, he rolled out of bed to face his fellow guard. “Sorry man, he knew you’d try to stop him.”

“He went to Koushi, didn’t he.”

“Listen—“ he tried to shrug off the accusation only to be cut off when Iwaizumi’s fist connected with his jaw. “Fuck! Iwa—“

The guard’s face started to tremble, red spreading across his cheeks as he tried to retain control of himself. “You knew. You knew and you let him walk into a war zone.”

“Like I could have stopped him!” Kuroo cupped his jaw, trying to sooth the blossoming bruise. “You know how he is— _especially_ when Koushi’s involved.”

“You should have told me! It’s my job to keep him _safe_! I could have stopped him! I could have—“

“Do you want to go after him?” He couldn’t suppress a mischievous grin. “We’re the Caelia guard, it’s our job, right? We can’t leave the others unattended, either. Let’s rally everyone together. The Caelia has been neutral for too long.”

-

The charred remains of the mantel lay neglected to the side of the clearing— like a corpse of its own. Asahi tried not to look at it. The burnt feathers and smell of seared flesh made his stomach turn. Nishinoya couldn’t tear his eyes away. If he could just get his hands on it—

Asahi kept his focus on the opposing men, waiting for them to strike first. The fact that they didn’t made him even more nervous. They just stared at the newcomers in confusion.

“Tendou?”

“I’m trying— it just? Hold on.” The slender red-head stood out against the dark storm clouds building on the opposite side of the mountain. His presence only increased as the feathers of his arms encroached across his body, expanding his form until they were met with the familiar form of the cockatrice.

The beads Akaashi had given him laid heavily on Asahi’s chest as he tried to regulate his breathing. Even without the curse, the beast was a nightmare to behold.

“Stop trying, it’s annoying,” Noya brought his gaze back to them. “This fight is between me and Ushijima, anyway. Step off.”

The cockatrice took a thundering step towards them, making the air shake with a thunderous roar before collapsing down into human form once again. “Then why’d you bring your pet human, huh?”

“Because I knew Ushijima would be playing dirty. Sending you after us? And that shitty little rattlesnake?”

“How is that playing dirty? I’m only using the resources available to me. It’s not my fault you’re just a tiny corvid while I’m made of legends.”

“Take that back!” Asahi’s voice surprised himself, but not as much as his hand reaching for his sword. He took a deep breath when he remembered: negotiations first. “If you’re so legendary, why don’t you let Karasuno live. Surely you have better things to do than to wipe out one little valley.”

Tendou kept a wary eye on the sword on his back, braced to strike. Ushijima stood as unbothered as ever.

“It’s not just one little valley. This storm will knock out every human civilization from here to the Ringed Mountains.”

“Why, because we’re ‘lesser lifeforms’ or something? We’re living, breathing beings! With families and hopes.”

“Because you’re pests. Colonizers. Terrorists. Liars and cheats.” Ushijima’s tone dropped dangerously as the wind picked up. “Who do you think drove a cockatrice into the mountains? Who drove away your people, Nishinoya? What was the catalyst that left you alone and chained to this mountain? You should be joining me.”

“No,” Noya stepped closer to Asahi, “we can coexist, Ushijima. We need to stop fighting with humanity. We need to stop the misunderstandings. We’re stronger, this needs to start with us. If we stop attacking them and start an open dialogue, I think we could do it. I mean, look at us,” he grabbed Asahi’s hand, “humans and spirits can get along.”

“You’ve known him for, what, a week?”

“Twenty years, Ushijima. I’ve known Asahi for two decades. Trust me, he’s not perfect, but I would give my life for him.”

“And so you will,” with a twitch of his arms, the Thunderbird took shape before them. Asahi reached for his sword just as a sharp elbow landed in his ribs. He found himself squabbling with Tendou— hand-to-hand wrestling all too familiar and comfortable for the seasoned hero.

A ruffle of black feathers shed next to him. From the corner of his eye, Asahi could barely make out the black form shooting for the sky. The Thunderbird was massive, but the crow was relentless and fast. Asahi had to trust Noya to hold his own as he tried to get ahold of Tendou’s arms. The feathers were sharp, pricking his palm if he gripped too hastily.

Tendou’s laugh echoed in his head as Asahi felt animal-like panic take hold. His own blood dripped down his arms. Using his bulkier weight to his advantage, Asahi managed to flip them, pining Tendou to the ground. Clawed feet dug into his stomach as he was kicked off, stumbling across the clearing as he tried to regain his breath.

The sky grew darker. Asahi couldn’t bare to look up to see the progress of the storm above. At a glance he could see the mantle nearby— Tendou had practically delivered it to him. Asahi Azumane was always told he was born into his fate. The Sun That Rises Over the Eastern Peak.

He was starting to believe it.

Noya knew his advantage would come from driving Ushijima away from the others. He might not be very big or powerful as a simple crow, but he knew he could be fast and annoying. He bullied and lured the larger bird away, giving Asahi time to take out the cockatrice.

“You know you’ll lose eventually. Why torment yourself first? You couldn’t even beat me with your mantle and you’re useless without it.”

“You’re forgetting something about crows,” Noya jeered. “Yeah, we might be small and common, but we are many. And without my people around, that leaves me the sole leader of the mundane. I don’t even have to call them. I’m all they have left to protect. You might have legends, but I have a mob.”

As if on cue, a cloud of black blocked the sun. The din of feathers and cries rustled the trees.

Noya dared a glance down to see how Asahi was doing, swooping out of range of Ushijima’s talons. Asahi was standing, good. His arms and stomach were flecked with blood, less good. He was inching towards the mantle, awesome. Noya made sure Ushijima’s attention was on the oncoming flock before diving for Asahi, ready to take the mantle when the man surely tossed it his way.

But he didn’t.

Sword in hand, he settled the mantle across his broad shoulders. Veins of gold lit up against the blade as Asahi grit his teeth.

Noya didn’t have time to react before a lightning strike singed his tail feathers.

Ushijima first. He would deal with his martyr of a human later.

-

“Come on, call me Tōru,” Oikawa whined as he kept pace with Suga’s thunderous steps. “Good things will happen if you just call me Tōru.”  
  
When Sugawara had deemed them far enough from the cabin, he turned to face his pursuer. Barren trees framed him, casting a sinister image with overcast mountains as a backdrop. Oikawa stopped in his tracks, humbled by the presence Sugawara had grown into.

“Tell me everything. Quickly.”

“What did you want to know?” Oikawa tried to keep a charming smile. He’d spent decades romanticizing his reunion with his childhood best friend. This wasn’t going the way he’d planned.

“Anything crucial to what’s happening right now. The storm’s about to crest the mountain. Dateko has captured our land and driven us to the outskirts. What are you doing to keep us safe.”

“I’m here to take you back. You’ll be safe away from here, back with the Caelia. Tobio can come too, I guess.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Well, that complicates things,” he pouted, crossing his arms. “I guess I could just kidnap you if you won’t go willingly, but I have a bad feeling about those outcomes. It’s much more favorable if you come willingly.”

Suga studied the man for a moment, refusing to budge. “Save my people and I’ll come willingly.”

Oikawa’s face lit up. “Well we already equipped Nishinoya and Asahi to take out the bird. So your people will survive the storm. They’ll be fine. So come on, let’s go.”

“Wait!” Suga took a step back as Oikawa approached him. “I know full well they won’t survive like this— storm or not. We have no food. No supplies. We need to send Dateko back where they came from. If you’re so powerful, help us fight them off.”

The intruder wrinkled his nose in frustration. “I mean, I guess— it’d be an abuse of power, though. You’d owe me big time.”

Suga smirked. There was a lot he could live with if Karasuno was kept safe. If Daichi were safe. “Name your price.”

“Come home. Stay.”

To Oikawa’s delight, the starlight haired man stepped forward, hand outstretched. Before he could jump forward to shake it, movement in the trees caught his eye.

Both men jumped back as a massive mountain lion bounded between them, claws digging up the dirt as it stopped to stare at Suga’s face. A dappled bobcat jumped down beside it. The mountain lion was the first to move. Apparently satisfied with his judgment, Kuroo unfolded to grin down at Sugawara. Kenma shifted beside him.

“Koushi! It is you! You stopped growing a little early,” a broad hand ruffled his hair with uncomfortable familiarity.

“Ow ow ow, Iwachan!” Oikawa whined as Iwaizumi pulled his ear. “Why are you so mean?!”

“Were you bullying Koushi?”

“I was just trying to get him to come home!”

“You were going to leave Tobio behind, weren’t you.” Akaashi sat cross-legged in the branches overhead, Bokuto leaning over him.

“I haven’t seen Tobio, maybe he’s not here.”

“You didn’t even look. You just crept into my bedroom and stared at me until I woke up. Like a creep.”

“Well—!” Oikawa pouted, but couldn’t come up with a retort. “Well, the rest of the Caelia are here now. So we can save your people! And then you have to come home with us.”

Suga took a studious look at the men surrounding him. He could feel the power radiating from them, intimidating but comforting— familiar. He mentally prepared himself to embrace these men as his new life.

“Just one more question,” his voice came as a whisper.

“Of course, Koushi,” Oikawa grinned.

“ _What_ am I.”

The resulting laugh was unappreciated. Too many of them were laughing. Those who weren’t just stared at him in confusion.

“You’re human, Koushi,” Oikawa stepped forward and took him in his arms, relief obvious in his form as he finally held his long lost friend. “You’re a flawed, simple, perfect, and absolutely refreshing human.”

“Now if you could kindly point us in the direction of the bad humans,” Kuroo gestured vaguely to the town. Bokuto dropped to the ground beside him, slinging an arm around his shoulders. Iwaizumi stepped along. The three together created an imposing wall of varying expressions of menace. Kenma and Akaashi flanked them with piercingly flat affects. “We’re the Caelia and we’re here to restore balance.”

-

A sharp cry caught Hinata’s attention. He’d bundled himself up by Aone’s side, dozing as the man read quietly. Both jumped to look at the crow that had announced itself at the window.

Hinata glanced at Aone’s face for recognition. Finding only confusion, he smiled. “The crow is the symbol of Karasuno. I wonder if this is a sign that our guardian deity— Kageyama!”

Both men jumped back at the gangly tumbleweed of limbs fell from the windowsill. Sitting up to rub the bump on his head, Kageyama winced. “I’m still trying to get the hang of it. Don’t laugh.”

“You can turn into a crow? That’s so cool! Do it again!” Now fully energized, Hinata was at his friend’s side in a single bound. He remained completely oblivious to Aone’s jealous scowl.  
Kageyama saw it as he met the opposing hero with a glare. “The Caelia are here. It’s time for your friend to go home.”

“But— Aone—“

“What’s safest for Hinata.”

“He needs to come back with me, with the people of Karasuno, so he doesn’t get confused as an intruder. You should go home. Take anyone who will listen. It’ll save you grievance.”

“Ah— Aone and I are married!” Hinata blurted, surprising both men out of their stand off. “If we’re married, that makes him a part of Karasuno too. So he’s protected.”

Kageyama’s glare made Hinata quake, but the smaller man refused to relent. “Is this true, Aone?” He shifted his piercing glaze, making the towering Aone shift nervously. His face flushed red, making the white of his hair stand out. It was hard to believe that this was supposed to be the intimidating hero everyone was afraid of. “Aone?”

Hinata bumped him, taking one of his massive hands in his own. “Futakuchi said it himself. We’re married. And he’s the head honcho right now, so his word is law.”

“Don’t worry, we can annul it when Daichi’s back in power,” Kageyama muttered reassuringly, more to himself than them.

“As good as,” was all Aone could peep. It took a few more deep breaths to compose himself, as if he was loath to admit the truth. “Futakuchi said we were ‘as good as’ married. You should go with your friend, Hinata. Stay safe. I’ll be okay.”

“He’s under my protection, Kageyama,” Hinata was relentless, “I’m going where he goes.”

“Fine!” The dark-haired boy huffed, crossing his arms, “then I’ll stay here too. _I’m_ part of the Caelia. I’ll be your guard.”

“You don’t even know what they’re doing, do you?” Hinata teased.

“I came to get you, dumbass! Be grateful.”

“Are we babysitting you?”

“No, I’m babysitting you two.”

Aone sat back on his bed, trying to ignore the two enough to finish his book. More importantly, he tried to ignore the anxious feeling in his stomach. The air buzzed with excitement, and not the good kind. Warning Futakuchi would be useless, the man was stubborn in his conquest and Aone didn’t even know what to warn him of.

He resigned himself to wait and see.

-

It scared him.

Asahi could feel a dark power weighing down his limbs. It sizzled in his blood. He should have asked if human bodies could handle the power of the mantle, but he didn’t. Now he just had to hope.

Tendou was sneering at him. “Ushi zapped it pretty bad. It’s not gonna be at full power.”

If this wasn’t full power, Asahi shivered to think of how much power Nishinoya had been wielding. He quaked to realize that Ushijima had defeated him with that much power. But Noya had been alone back then.

He wasn’t alone anymore.

-

The plagues started with rats.

Swarms of them.

Panic spread through Dateko in waves.

At first, rumors spread of an oncoming natural disaster. Storm clouds laid heavily over the mountains, surely another flood was approaching. Even if they hadn’t unmasked Karasuno’s seer, any layman could tell the rats were running from something.

But then they stayed. Homes under Dateko occupation crawled with vermin so thick it looked like breathing carpet. Most became afraid to move, but the nipping at their feet compelled them to shuffle out of their homes into the street.

The streets held new horror. Queues of war dead awaiting rights and burials were wiped clean. The gnawing sounds of teeth on bone echoed through the lanes, inescapable.

A mob of Dateko colonizers flocked to the Sawamura home, demanding Futakuchi to appear. The rest simply grabbed what they could and left, back to the old encampment, back towards their old home.

Futakuchi ripped away the door to the only room free of infestation to find young Kageyama waiting patiently for his audience. Hinata stood by his side, arms crossed. Aone couldn’t take his eyes off of the scene unfolding outside of the window.

“Are you ready to let Karasuno go?”

-

Four.

Even with a mob at his back, Nishinoya still insisted on going face-to-face with the Thunderbird. This fight was personal. He wanted revenge. Revenge for himself, for his fall from grace, and vengeance for Karasuno who suffered for it.

Five.

“Do these mundanes know that they’re dying for you to betray their advocates?” Ushijima questioned. “They’re dying to protect you as you fight against the return of your own people.”

Six.

Noya had been trying not to count the number of crows that had dropped from the sky. Even if he didn’t see where the lighting struck, he could hear the sickening _thud_ of bodies hitting the ground.

“You’re supposed to be protecting them.”

“I know!” Thunder rumbled under his frustration. The flicker of panic on Ushijima’s face told him it wasn’t under his control. “I’m the guardian deity, fighting storms is what I do.”

-

The second plague came on the heels of the first. The rats cleared the streets, overfilling and terrorizing the occupied homes until every citizen was forced to stand outside. It started as white flakes falling from the sky. The people of Dateko looked up in wonder. As it hit their faces, curious hands smeared gray across their cheeks.

“Ash.”

“It’s Ash!”

The crowd rustled as they struggled to escape the source. Panicked eyes scanned the sky for smoke. They were the first to notice pinpricks of light dotting the cloud cover.

“Fire!”

The singular announcement sent them into a blind scuffle. Masses of people struggled to find the quickest way out of the crowded streets as fire rained from the sky. Flames licked at the buildings without burning. Unconsuming heat caught stragglers, herding them to the west side of town.

Karasuno glowed in unearthly flames. A beacon. A warning. The reflection shone dangerously in Akaashi’s eyes as he and Bokuto stood on the roof of the Sawamura home.

Aone turned to face his brother-in-arms. He didn’t have the stomach to process the hurt in Futakuchi’s eyes. He had warned him. He hadn’t wanted this war. “Karasuno is burning. There will be nothing left for any of us if you don’t put an end to this.”

“Sawamura wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t cut off his nose to spite his face.” Futakuchi towered over the two Karasuno boys. “Tell me his game.”

“This isn’t Daichi. We’re with the Caelia. We’re here to restore the balance.”

-

Blood matted the feathers over his arms. His and Noya’s, fresh and dried, mingling across the iridescent black mantle. Asahi tried to focus on the burning of his hands to distract from the open wounds on his stomach. His bleeding palms made the sword tricky to hold. He gripped it a little tighter as Tendou moved in for the attack.

As a cockatrice, he had been lumbering and clumsy. As a human, the man was a nimble streak of red. Iwaizumi was right— he would have been a sitting duck with a mace. The great sword might not have been as quick as a seif or rapier, but it was a good compromise.

Tendou’s talons engaged the broadside of the sword. The man’s wide eyed grin mocked him as Asahi was pushed back.

Strength emitted from the mantle. It burned Asahi’s skin. He could feel his body rejecting the magic even as the mantle insisted on bestowing it. Blisters turned his neck raw where the mantle was fastened. It gave him the strength to parry the blow, knocking Tendou away.

Asahi overcompensated for the shift in effort, stumbling to the side as his sword swung further than anticipated. Tendou saw his chance, pouncing on Asahi’s exposed ribs. The hero moved to block the onslaught.

It had been some sort of lucky accident.

Muscle memory, maybe. Whether is was his or the mantle’s, Asahi couldn’t be sure.

He was falling, catching himself, preparing for the attack.

That was when he felt the wet slide of the sword through Tendou’s side.

The man kept his grin even as he was stopped on the blade. His wide eyes drifted to his stomach. He touched the entry tenderly. Studying the red of his fingers, both fighters stood frozen in time.

“Oh dear.”

Asahi was afraid to move. The usual animalistic rage that accompanied victory left him with the sheer shock of a blow he hadn’t planned. He was afraid to move in case cockatrice’s held some sort of trick— rejuvenation, immortality, acid blood. He was sure the monster would eviscerate him if he dislodged it.

The cockatrice in question attempted to shift, to pull himself off of the sword. He was only met with a new pour of blood. He slammed himself back down to slow it, only succeeding on widening the wound. The cry from his throat was wet, inhuman. The silence in the moment that followed was deafening.

“Wait!” Thunder boomed, sending reverberations through the air. The mob of crows was knocked back, Noya’s larger form at their pinnacle. Ushijima drifted back to earth, human feet touching down as his powerful wings gave a final beat. “Wait.” His hands were raised, flat affect betrayed with the way his wide eyes refused to leave Tendou and Asahi, still locked in their final blow.

Nishinoya touched ground tentatively, standing proud in his human form. He stalked parallel to Ushijima as the they approached. Tendou had Asahi pinned to the rocks below. Noya noted the blood splattered across Asahi’s chest and stomach, trying to determine how dire his situation was. He reached Asahi with just enough time to jump between him and their opponents as Ushijima pulled Tendou away, sword and all.

“Toshi,” Tendou’s grin refused to falter as he blinked up at the man inspecting the wound, “can we go exploring after this?”

“He needs a healer.”

“Are you willing to negotiate one?” Noya kept a careful eye on them as he helped Asahi to his feet. Deft fingers took stock of the man’s injuries as he stood. Asahi in turn took note of the fresh burns etched across Noya’s skin.

“We don’t have time to negotiate. Tell me what you want then get him to the Caelia,” Ushijima grit his teeth. This whole thing was meaningless without Tendou. He could claim ‘for the greater good of spirits’ all day, but in the end his fight left him when the redhead did.

“Leave here,” the crow’s voice held a menace Asahi had never heard. “Take your storm and leave.”

“You have my word. Take me to them.”

-

Futakuchi’s final blow came gracefully.

Aone had to restrain him, finding it hard to ignore the rampage of “how could you betray Dateko like this” and reminders of “our people are dying, our people have died.” He knew. He was aware.

“This isn’t the way to save them, Futakuchi.”

“Your people have fled. They packed up and went home. Your entire civilization doesn’t think this is worth it, but you’re still fighting?”

Futakuchi sighed as he recognized that teasing voice even before Aone turned him around.

Sugawara strode in, flanked by a snarling mountain lion and a bobcat. He looked absolutely angelic standing between the predators, a lamb at peace.

As if to rub salt in his wounds, Sawamura stepped in behind him. “Your people will need their leader. Are you going to be the man they need you to be, or are you going to continue down this foolish path?”

“He’ll have me,” Aone assured, “and I intend on bringing an era of peace.”

Both Daichi and Suga eyed the hero suspiciously.

“It’s alright. We can trust Aone. He just wants what’s best for Dateko,” Hinata came to stand by Aone’s side, tugging the man’s sleeve gently as one would pet a dog to show its lack of bite, “and Karasuno.”

Daichi nodded affirmatively. “Then let’s negotiate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You probably started this fic thinking “wow it’s only five chapters and they’re such reasonable lengths!” And then this chapter happened. Sorry fam.


	5. Here stands a man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heroes deserve to come home

“You were found. The Caelia elders found you when you were just a toddler. The rest of us were chosen— the fae went to our families and chose us at our christenings. You chose us.”

Oikawa worked swiftly on a man’s broken arm. A combination of learned science and borrowed fae magic set the bone back in place and slowed the bleeding. Sugawara watched carefully, absorbing as much information as possible.

“I don’t think they even got the fae’s permission to keep you, to be honest,” Oikawa barked a laugh, “the elders were instantly smitten and that was the end of it. They eventually gave you a blessing. Hey, has it manifested yet?”

“Blessing? As in… my Sight maybe? I get visions of the future sometimes. They’re random and changeable. Tobio has visions too, but his are infallible and specific.”

“Yeah! Like that! I can tell whether or not something will lead to a favorable outcome. Kenma can read minds— or at least emotions. He refuses to give us a defined answer.. Akaashi… we haven’t figured him out. He’s a bit of an oddball,” Oikawa shrugged, “he’s good at curing curses. Future sight though! Look at you, Koushi!”

It was hard not to beam under the man’s praise. Connecting with Oikawa was like regaining feeling in a limb he hadn’t realized had gone numb. It was a part of him that had remained shrouded in mystery for too long. He didn’t hold all of the answers, but Suga felt slightly more at ease knowing how he came to be stumbling outside of the Sawamura home with Tobio in his arms.

“Where’d they find me? Where are my parents?” The sudden realization that his parents could be here, in Karasuno, all along made his heart skip. There was no way they wouldn’t have recognized their silver-haired baby. They either noticed him and didn’t believe it, noticed him and didn’t want him, or they were dead.

Oikawa shrugged. “In the snow, I know that much. You were all but frozen when they brought you back. It took months of intensive healing before you were allowed to play. I got _so mad_ that there was another kid around and I wasn’t allowed to play with him. Iwachan had to go to guard practice and I was all alone.”

The bruising in their patient’s arm faded as Oikawa smoothed a salve over his skin. They moved to the next bed. The peace treaty resulted in the dissolution of Karasuno and Dateko as separate peoples. The medical tent was filled with people from both. They were to be treated equally— two branches of the same family tree. One people occupying two cities. Suga still glowed with pride from witnessing Daichi’s peace talk.

The next patient wasn’t as bad off: a minor fracture that came close to a major artery. Oikawa motioned for Suga to try some of what he’d learned. With careful fingers, he fit the splint. Suga suppressed a flinch as Oikawa embraced him from behind, ghosting his arm over Suga’s in order to check his work. Holding Suga’s hand from above, Oikawa guided his fingers over the fracture. Suga could feel tendrils of borrowed fae magic course through their fingertips.

“And that’s how you direct the magic!” Oikawa grinned in his ear, uncomfortably close. His breath sent shivers down Suga’s spine. Everything about Oikawa felt familiar— too familiar. He didn’t know how much he liked that.

Suga turned to land a “friendly” jab to Oikawa’s ribs, granting himself some personal space with a smile. “Thank you for the lesson. I think I can handle some of these more minor injuries if you want to focus on the ones who really need your expertise.”

Across the room, Kenma fixed the duo with a piercing gaze. It wasn’t long before Akaashi also noticed the disturbance in the atmosphere. Kageyama kept moving from patient to patient, a natural at healing but oblivious to the others. Oikawa withered under his peers’ disapproving looks. He withdrew his arms from around Suga.

“I guess you’re right. Wouldn’t want to waste all of this power on minor injuries.” He managed to smile despite the tension. “Let me know if something’s too difficult for you. We’ll train you properly when we return to the mountain. Oh! And don’t forget to think about who you’re taking as your guard.”

Oh, right, that was still a thing. Suga kept trying to forget about their deal. The answers to his past might lie with the Caelia, but his life was here. He didn’t want to think about leaving it. He’d _finally_ kissed Daichi. They were working through it. It just seemed cruel to leave now.

But if he hadn’t made the deal, Daichi would have perished. Their home would be lost. It was a sacrifice that had to be made.

He tried to brace himself for a lifetime of Oikawa’s carefree touches after he had spent years vying for Daichi’s. It wasn’t the worst fate, but it wasn’t the one he would have chosen for himself.

He’d sacrificed his happiness for the good of Karasuno a long time ago.

But then there was the issue of who he would be taking with him as his guard. Oikawa had assured him that the Caelia guard wasn’t necessarily a romantic involvement-- it just usually happened that way due to the nature of the position. It had to be someone dependable and strong, but most importantly it had to be someone Suga would trust with his life. Kageyama had opted to take no one, insisting he could protect himself. Suga knew who he _wanted_ to take, but Daichi had to stay in Karasuno. The decision plagued his mind.

What felt like hours passed as Suga felt his energy take a nosedive. The other healers continued on at a breakneck pace. He was all too aware of how they outranked him. He was also the first to become aware of a disturbance outside. Wind battered at the tent as men shouted with surprise. A sudden sandstorm? It wasn’t uncommon, but still bad news.

He was about to run out to help people inside when the wind stopped. A short man elbowed his way past Suga, ducking into the tent. Behind him loomed what appeared to be a giant eagle. It half registered to Suga that he should have stopped the stranger from barging into the tent, but the bird caught him in a staring contest. Suga had never seen a creature so massive before in his life.

“Oikawa!” The short man hollered from within the tent. Suga broke away from the bird’s gaze, retreating back inside. While short in stature, the newcomer was obviously well muscled. He wasn’t someone Suga wanted to get into trouble with, though trouble radiated off of him in waves.

“Noya— what-?”

“I need your help. Trust me and come quickly.”

The Caelia shared a knowing look before Oikawa gave them a curt nod, following Noya out of the tent. By the time Suga caught up with them, they were already in flight.

-

_The Elder Sawamura lay dying in the dirt. They fought for the spring and now the fresh water was tainted by his blood._

_It was foolish. Even in a state of terror, Suga could tell it was foolish._

_He was surrounded by Dateko soldiers. They stood guard around the body, leaving enough space between them that the opposing troops could see their prize without a doubt. Karasuno knew why the water ran red. Their leader had fallen._

_Suga saw Asahi step out from the group. Gentle Asahi, who always talked about moving out of town and starting a quiet farm. Kind Asahi, the boy who cared for Tobio as a baby, the man who would make an excellent father. His Asahi. His Asahi’s face was set in solid stone, brows drawn tight, hair a matted mess, exposed muscles glistening with blood— both his own and others._

_He was scared._

_Suga was scared._

_That’s not what his kind, gentle, compassionate Asahi should ever look like._

_He cried out. He jumped forward to stop him._

_He jumped right out of sleep, jolting upright into the waking world. Asahi startled next to him, sitting up and studying him with wide, panicked eyes._

_His Asahi._

_Still soft from sleep, still kind and gentle. Suga took a few deep breaths, dismissed it as a nightmare, and curled back up into the arms of_ his _Asahi._

-

“I hope you’re proud of yourself.” He tried to steel his voice to sound angry, but Nishinoya’s heart wasn’t in it.

The mountain of a man sat still as stone, feathers obscuring his form. Muscles twitched from being tensed for too long. Noya could just barely make out dark eyes following him from under tangled damp hair.

“Does it hurt?” Noya carefully ran his fingers through the feathers. Asahi flinched. The mantle had started melding to him in patches. Disturbing the feathers pulled at his skin. Noya cringed. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this. You should have been home by now with your bees.”

The bulk of flesh and feathers let out a whine as Noya took his hand away. He swayed forward to chase the touch. _‘Don’t leave me alone’_ he seemed to be begging.

Noya responded by sitting directly in front of him. “I’m not going anywhere. It’s gonna be okay.”

He was torn by the instinct to embrace the man for comfort— either his or Asahi’s, god knows they both needed it— and the knowledge that every little touch was torture to Asahi’s tired nerves.

The mantle was too much for his human body to handle. It wasn’t something they had predicted. Noya cursed himself for not thinking of it as a possibility. He cursed Kuroo for even suggesting that Asahi could take up the mantle. He cursed Asahi for being stupid, stupid, stupid. And brave. And quick thinking. But mostly stupid.

“Tendou and Ushijima are with the Caelia right now. You did good. I didn’t think that scrawny cockatrice would be Ushi’s weakness. He always struck me as the ‘strong lone wolf’ type. When they’re gone, I can get Oikawa up here to fix you. Sound good?”

The feathers of the mantle ruffled, melding further to Asahi’s form, as if to say ‘I’m not going anywhere. You can’t fix me. I’m a blessing. I don’t need to be fixed.’

“Until then, we can hang out!” Noya turned and laid his head on Asahi’s lap. Despite the resulting wince, the softness around his eyes welcomed Noya’s closeness. “I lived up here for generations. It’s not too shabby, right? It’s better with company.”

Slowly, movement stiff, Asahi fought to bring his hand to cup the back of Noya’s head. He focused on moving his fingers, running them through soft strands of hair.

“Look at that, you’re moving! See maybe you _can_ get the hang of it,” Noya nuzzled into the adoring wrist. It was taking every last ounce of his emotional stamina to stay positive, but this little bit of movement was an improvement. “You know, I was really surprised when you came stumbling out of the woods after Kuroo. I never expected anyone to come to my rescue— much less _you_. You’re really brave.”

Asahi furled his brow. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but couldn’t find his voice. The best he could manage was to give the hair between his fingers a light tug.

“I know. You’re scared. But facing the things that scare you is the whole point of being brave, right? I’m scared of lots of things. Like dogs. And bugs— especially scorpions and scarabs. Snakes freak me out, too. But I’m the mighty guardian deity of Karasuno! I have a job to do and I gotta be brave. Doesn’t mean I’m not scared shitless every time a beetle gets stuck in my hair.”

With just the slightest bit of mischief, Asahi drew a line up Noya’s neck with the opposite hand, causing the smaller man to jump. He batted away the offending limb with a barely suppressed yelp. Asahi’s arm swung back with a crack of broken feathers. Blood trickled from cracked pin feathers.

Noya sat up to apply pressure to the bleeding feathers. “You know, I really thought for a while that Kuroo had seen how depressed I was and gone down to the village to kidnap you. He used to tease me relentlessly over my crush on you. It seemed like too much of a coincidence that he would just find you in the woods like that.”

With effort, Asahi lifted his head to meet Noya’s eyes. His face had gone from sheet white to peach pink. A few feathers fell from his neck from the movement.

“Oh— uh— hahah. Can you blame me? I’m sure tons of people have crushes on you, Asahi. You’re a big strong hero! Come on, how many marriage proposals do you get a week? Fathers offering hefty dowries for you to marry their daughters?” He refused to meet Asahi’s gaze, focused on preening the damaged feathers until he was sure the bleeding had stopped. “I’m sure you’re thinking ‘you’re one to talk, Nishinoya, I’m sure all the girls love you. You’re so cool and suave, you must leave a trail of broken hearts.’ But they actually left me pretty much by myself up here. The few girls I did know growing up just ignored me. I’ve fallen in love plenty, but no one’s ever so much as _seen_ me.”

Asahi tried to make eye contact, but Noya busied himself with studying the feathers. The mantle he had worn for so long was unrecognizable. The leather binding it together had become one with Asahi’s skin, radiant tan instead of battered black. Pin feathers pricked his fingers as he felt for loose feathers.

“Noya—“ Asahi’s voice was hoarse. He tried to retreat back into himself to escape the prodding touches.

“Wait— hold on— Asahi, I think you’re molting?”

“It’s itchy. It hurts.”

“We need to get Oikawa.”

“Don’t leave me.”

“Asahi— I’ll be right back, I swear! I just have to go get help.”

“Please.”

He had reached out a timid hand to grip Noya’s tunic with as much strength as he could muster. His face was open in panic.

“I love you.”

The smaller man shifted uncomfortably, gently prying the hand from his clothing. “You don’t have to say that to get me to stay. Don’t patronize me.”

Asahi shook his head, his voice exhausted. With a desperate scramble, he pulled Noya to him. He ignored the cracking and shedding of feathers in his distress.

Noya found himself completely entrapped in feathered limbs. It felt similar to having the mantle draped over his shoulders, but with added warmth and weight. With _Asahi_. He wrapped his legs around the man’s waist, settling into the embrace.

“I love you too.”

-

_The sun annoyed Kageyama from the start._

_It was too bright, he couldn’t see much of anything. He tried to block out the light with his hand only to find that it wasn’t coming from above. It was before him._

_The orange didn’t stand out much against the bright space, but he could sense that all light originated from it. Together they looked like young gods. The boy was about his age, wide smile and energetic gestures. By his side sat a younger girl, same vibrant ginger mass of hair. She squealed in delight at his story._

_Kageyama could feel warmth radiating from the two, penetrating the deep loneliness that plagued the inside of his chest. It bothered him. How_ dare _this boy violate the walls he’d put around himself. He didn’t want friends. He didn’t need them._

_A somber pair of men emerged from the washed out scene. They knelt next to the young siblings. The boy sat attentively, listening dutifully. As words fell silently from the men’s lips, a spot of darkness dripped across the scene. Like ink, it spread and engulfed the light._

_By the time the men left, the children sat in darkness. The boy looked back at Kageyama, eyes wide in horror._

_He shivered._

-

Daichi was exhausted.

Futakuchi was being reasonable, he couldn’t argue that, but trying to find the balance where both people could survive on their limited supply? So far their best hope was the upcoming meeting between farmers. Maybe together they could grow more than they would have otherwise.

He also had to deal with the jeers from his own people. The elders wanted to kick Dateko out, regardless of the terms of surrender. “All’s fair in love and war” they’d said, with pointedly judgmental looks towards Sugawara. Useless old men. Daichi wished he could govern without them, but he was loath to become a dictator.

Maybe he could replace them. He’d have to meet with Futakuchi about that. They could probably build a new regime between the two of them. They could keep each other in check with a handful of appointed officials instead of this archaic method of letting the oldest men in the village make the rules. They would die before they faced the consequences anyway.

He took a moment to jot down his proposal in his notebook. He would have to meet with Futakuchi in private to avoid throwing the elders into a riot. Hinata and Aone would have to set up the meeting.

He made another note to appoint them as ambassadors. They got along well, to put it mildly. If anyone wanted this union to succeed, it was those two.

Okay, yes, this could work.

The bed dipped as Suga crawled up beside him.

“You’re not supposed to do work in bed. It messes with your mental association between ‘bed’ and ‘sleep.’”

“Sleep? Is that what bed is for? Why has no one bothered to tell me this?” Daichi grinned as he set down his notebook, turning to catch Koushi in his arms.

The other man laughed, letting himself get pinned to the mattress. “I can teach you if you want. I’ve been told I’m very good at it.”

“Well someone’s extra cheeky today.”

“I’m just glad that everything’s working out. We’ve managed to bring all of the wounded out of critical condition. Yui says we’ll have the center of town rebuilt by the end of the week. The rest will be done in a month. And _somebody_ is kicking ass at negotiations.”

“No more gloom on the horizon?”

Suga sighed, pulling Daichi down on top of him, holding him tight. “There’s always gloom on the horizon. So we have to try extra hard to enjoy this right now.”

“I trust you would tell me if it was important?” Daichi couldn’t resist the opportunity to bury his face in Suga’s neck. It had become his favorite place to rest.

“I’ll tell you if it’s important and changeable. There’s no point stressing over things you can’t change.” Thoughtful fingers traced up Daichi’s back, rucking up his shirt while appreciating each vertebrae. “Found out more about my past, though. They found me abandoned on the mountain in the snow, frozen near to death. No one seems to know where I came from or what happened to my parents.”

“Maybe you’re just born of the mountains, simple as that. The glaciers made you.” Daichi emphasized his point by kissing up Suga’s neck, behind the shell of his ear, and nuzzling into his hair. “And now you’re mine.”

Suga couldn’t help but laugh. “Am I now?”

Daichi hesitated, sitting back to study Sugawara with an anxious expression. “I want you to be, if that’s alright by you.”

“Then make me.”

Hindsight was 20/20. Looking back, Suga could remember the first time he felt the gift of Sight tug at his gut.

The Elder Sawamura had rescued young Koushi and Tobio. He gave them surnames, proclaimed them a part of Karasuno, and set them up with one of his old maids. It had been a whirlwind for the already tired and confused boys.

Both boys suffered from restless sleep and nightmares. The nanny used to coo them awake, pitying whatever suffering they had endured in their forgotten past. It wasn’t until much later that Suga realized it wasn’t only the past that plagued them, but the future as well.

He dreamt of a boy with a toothy smile, hands full of a chubby chuckwalla struggling to escape, chattering away about things Suga couldn’t understand. Dreams of Tooru faded over time. After a while he felt like a forgotten imaginary friend.

The weirdest dreams were the ones of tall, muscular men. Dreams full of war, love, and toned tan bodies. He always woke up confused. He kept an eye on the village for the faces he’d seen, tried to remember them, but they never surfaced.

Sugawara met Daichi when they were just kids. He was a brat, to be honest, son of the chief and entitled to his nanny’s attention. He dismissed Tobio, the most important person in Suga’s life, and Suga should have hated him for it, but something in those fierce little eyes tugged at the back of his mind.

It was hard to ignore, but he tried.

Daichi brought along Asahi. Shy, submissive Asahi was kind. He was nice to Tobio. He was gentle. As they grew, Suga started to recognize tan skin and toned arms. Asahi grew tall and broad. He remained gentle and glass hearted, but dedicated and fiercely protective of his people. Suga’s people. He loved him, he really did.

Suga couldn’t ignore that Daichi was also growing taller, broader, and gentler.

He supposed he had always seen it coming. No matter what path they took, it was always going to end up here. They were always going to fall in love.

-

_The sun was persistent: blazing bright and warm._

_Kageyama still felt cold as it turned its face away from him._

_Hinata was grinning across a crowd. Kageyama watched from the side of the small make-shift stage as Daichi bestowed honors on the petite hero. He’d done it. He achieved hero status. Kageyama knew he would. He was brave, determined, optimistic, and surprisingly charming. The seer had watched him grow from childhood to the present and beyond. He’d seen how much work and the many trials Hinata had gone through and those yet to come._

_At some point he realized he’d fallen in love with the obnoxious little dumbass. It was a great feeling at first. It felt heaven blessed, destined, since Hinata was the focus of his Sight. Kageyama’s stomach bubbled and tipped with giddiness as he anticipated Hinata’s hero acceptance. The feeling was soon trampled as Hinata exited the stage-- straight into the arms of another man. The mountain of a man swept him off his feet with a fanfare of laughter and kisses._

_Yes, he could predict that Hinata would be a successful and happy hero. He’d live a long life full of love._

_Without Kageyama._

_He didn’t even know why he was here, in this vision. He didn’t know why his Sight fixated on someone who went on without him. He didn’t know his own future or where he would end up._

_After a couple of nights, he started getting used to starting his mornings with a broken heart._

-

Time passes quickly after tragedy, after chaos, after war. Hours turned to days turned to weeks. Wounds healed. Buildings rose. There’s a sense of guilt as you move on. There are things that need to be put aside in order to focus on progress.

Caught up in a whirlwind of emotions, Suga had let himself ignore every anxiety nagging at the back of his mind. He was getting respect from the community. The town was coming back together, stronger than ever. He got to go home to Daichi (he didn’t want to think about his mistress status). His bond with Yui was stronger than ever (he chose to ignore the swelling in her belly). Akaashi and Kenma had been amiable tutors in revealing his past and abilities (he could pretend he wasn’t honor bound to join them sooner than later). For weeks, he was able to pretend that everything was on the up and up. Delaying the inevitable only made the fall all the worst.

Oikawa arrived as he left, on the back of a thunderbird. Electricity crackled through the air to announce his arrival. The beating of wings shook the ground as the beast delivered him and departed. He strode into the Sawamura home as if he owned the place. He caught them inside, escaping the sun for a lunch break. Yui and Akaashi had been attempting to tell the same legend, constantly mumbling corrections for each other’s version. Daichi, Suga, Tanaka, and the rest of the Caelia sat at the table, trying not to laugh. All amusement ceased as Oikawa uttered the question they’d all been silently ignoring.

“Where’s Asahi?”

He had meant it innocently enough, as if he expected ‘bathroom’ as an answer. The rigid set of everyone’s shoulders told him that wasn’t the case. “Noya reclaimed the mantel weeks ago. Asahi should be back by now.”

Kuroo was the first to shrug off the awkward air draped over the room. “You saw them together; he probably decided to stay with Noya.”

“Yeah!” To punctuate his point, Bokuto draped himself across Kuroo’s lap, batting his eyes up at the man. “They’re probably honeymooning right now. They’ve earned it.”

“Asahi and Noya— as in the guardian deity Nishinoya?” Suga felt a guilt he didn’t realize he’d been carrying melt off of his back. “Asahi’s a romantic, but he’s shy. If it’s true, then he’s probably just enjoying some privacy.”

Oikawa grimaced. “No, something feels off. Caelia, pack up. We’ll check on them on our way back. Koushi, have you chosen your guard?”

At the mention of his name, the silver-haired man jumped. His hand grabbed Daichi’s out of instinct.

“Suga?”

Oh Daichi. Oh, sweet loving Daichi. He’d never found the words to tell him. No moment seemed like the right one to ruin with bad news. So Suga hadn’t. He’d simply kept Daichi in the dark about his deal with Oikawa. He didn’t regret it. The past few weeks together had been blissful, pretending they were endless. But now reality had soared in on the back of a thunderbird.

“Can I have more time?”

“Koushi,” Oikawa stood before him, letting his expression be vulnerable, “you’re going to have to trust me. Trust my gut. We need to go.”

“Suga, what is he talking about? You’re not—“

“I need to go, Daichi. I made a deal. They helped us so I have to go with them.”

“Well that’s bullshit. We were going to help you regardless,” Kuroo smirked.

“Hey trashykawa,” Iwaizumi loomed over Oikawa’s shoulder, “what’ve you been telling him.”

“Regardless,” Kenma’s small voice rumbled under the conflict, “Koushi should come with us. Oikawa wasn’t lying when he said he sensed danger otherwise.”

“Kenma, you’re my only friend.”

“That’s sad.”

“Do I get a say here?” Daichi interrupted their bickering, stepping between Suga and the rest of the room. “Our people are coming out of a trying time right now. We need Suga here, with us.”

“No. You don’t get a say.” Oikawa’s irritation left no room for argument. “The needs of the Caelia outweigh the needs of your tiny village. This has nothing to do with you. Unless you’re offering yourself as Koushi’s guard, it would be best if you remained silent.”

“I have to stay here. I’m the leader of my people—“

“Oh, so sad, I guess you’re not coming with us then. Koushi will have to pick someone else.”

“Yui,” Suga stepped to the center of the room. “I want Yui as my guard.”

“The pregnant one,” Iwaizumi monotoned.

“Suga don’t—“

“Sure, she’s pregnant. But she’s also strong, determined, and cunning. She was pregnant when she broke Daichi out of prison. She was pregnant when we outsmarted Dateko guards. She’s more than capable, regardless of whether she’s in the process of creating human life or not.”

“— you’re taking everything from me!” When he turned, Daichi was red in the face. “It’s bad enough that you’re leaving, but taking my wife and child from me? I didn’t know you could be so cruel, Sugawara.”

“Suga, I’m flattered, but—“ The color had drained from Yui’s face.

“Wait,” Oikawa interrupted her, taking her under his arm to whisper to her. “hear him out. I can tell that you’re not the best choice for us, but… it’s the best choice for you. He’s doing a selfless thing.”

Suga stepped up to look Daichi square in the face. “Please trust me.”

“Suga… Koushi, please. Stay.”

“I’ll come back. I promise.” Daichi’s cheek felt soft under his hand— sun weathered and young. He wanted to remember him like this. “When the danger has passed, I’ll come back.”

“Come on, let’s go find Asahi!” Oikawa cheered, leading Yui towards the door, hooking an arm around Suga on his way out. “He could be bleeding out at this very moment! Hurry hurry!”

“Wait! What about Tobio? He should come with us too.” Suga halted.

Oikawa sighed, urging him forward. “We’ll pick him up on the way out. Akaashi, Kenma, go ahead of us. Take Yui and head straight to the hall. Iwa, Koushi and I are gonna grab the brat and pay Noya a visit.”

“Affirmative,” the seriousness of Akaashi’s voice set Suga on edge, but it was offset by the glee on Bokuto’s face as he was escorted away. An odd couple, perfectly matched.

They found Kageyama holed up in his room, lights off, curtains drawn. Suga motioned for the others to stay outside. The young man was curled up on his bed, but made no motion to reject Suga’s attention. He took that as invitation to wrap himself around his huddled form.

“Hey kid.”

“They’re building a house together.”

“Who is?”

“Hinata and Aone. They’re planning on announcing their betrothal soon, at the next peace talk. They’ve already started on their house.”

“I’m sorry,” was all Suga could think to say. Kageyama didn’t cry. His aura felt too heavy for tears. Suga could feel Oikawa’s impatience just outside the door. He tried to think of the right way to bring up their departure. _‘Do you want to go on an adventure?’ ‘Do you want to run away?’_ “Do you want to go home?”

Kageyama nodded as he uncurled. He followed quietly as they were led out of the building. Oikawa set a pace that allowed for little more than a wave goodbye as they passed Daichi on the way out. The sun loomed over the canyon as they approached the edge of town.

They’d be back. Right now, Asahi needed them.

“It’s going to be dark in a few hours,” Suga hesitated as they passed Asahi’s homestead. Everything beyond the orchard was unknown to him. “Shouldn’t we wait for a full day’s sun to hike the mountain?”

“Don’t be scared, Koushi,” Oikawa gave him a pat on the back, for momentum more than encouragement. “I know those pretty human eyes of yours are limited, but the rest of us get by just fine at night. If you need to sleep, Iwachan can carry you. We need to keep moving.”

The other man huffed, but didn’t disagree. In the time he had spent with Iwaizumi, Suga had come to know him as a levelheaded, trustworthy person. If he put this much trust in Oikawa’s gut instinct without so much as a protest, Suga would too. They kept moving.

The Joshua trees thickened as they made their way through the canyon. Suga seemed to be the only one irritated as his clothes caught on the rough palms. In front of him, Oikawa and Iwaizumi slipped between plants with liquid fluidity. Even Kageyama by his side synched with the wilderness, at ease with his surroundings. Brittlebush clung to his increasingly sand-filled shoes as Suga made a realization: he was the only human here. Even Kageyama, who had looked up to him and depended on him for all these years, had more of a right to be here than he did.

Joshua trees gave way to tall, skinny pines. Sand turned to pebbles. Pebbles turned to rocks and good, solid dirt. It wasn’t clear where desert turned into lush mountainside. The dull ache in their legs was the only indicator that the incline was increasing.

“Oikawa, you met with Nishinoya. I saw you leave with him. Did he mention anything about Asahi’s condition?” It had gotten too dark for Suga to see the man before him. He’d allowed Kageyama to guide him by the elbow through the woods as his eyes struggled to see through patchy moonlight.

“He was anxious. He’d made some sort of deal with the Thunderbird. Asahi had dealt a fatal blow to the bird’s companion. Noya volunteered the Caelia’s help in exchange for surrender and exile. He didn’t mention Asahi’s condition, but he wasted no time in rushing back to him.”

“So Kuroo might have been right? They might be honeymooning?”

“Wrong kind of anxious. He didn’t enlist our help personally, so I’m assuming it’s something he thought he could handle on his own. Their continued silence and the feeling in my gut tell me that something went wrong. He misjudged. They need us.”

Kageyama ran his free hand across Suga’s arm reassuringly. “Suga, can’t you see Asahi’s future? Have you seen anything?”

“I… after the battle with Aone, I did everything I could to block Asahi’s fate. I pushed him away so I wouldn’t have to see it. I still get snippets, but not full stories. Before all of this, I saw his return to Karasuno. I haven’t seen anything since.”

“Then you have to believe he’ll come back,” Iwaizumi’s voice rumbled low in the night, “he’s a good fighter. He went well prepared. He defeated his opponent. I believe we’ll find him. He survived.”

Suga nodded in agreement, more for himself than anyone else. After a few hours of silent travel, Suga felt his limbs growing heavy. He fought the urge to curl up and take a nap. He could catch up later. God, he was so tired. A scatter of noise startled him awake.

“Mule deer,” Kageyama muttered reassuringly. “Do you need to rest?”

“The offer still stands, Koushi,” Oikawa called from ahead, “Iwachan can carry you the whooole way! He may be short, but he’s strong.”

“Shut up, Rattykawa.”

Suga laughed. “I don’t know how you put up with him, Iwaizumi.”

“We’ve been friends _forever_ \-- ever since I was a little fuzzie. Mom had always driven away snakes and such, so I’d never seen a chuckwalla before. I thought he was an alien at first! But even though he’s big, strong, and scary looking, he doesn’t eat meat. So he’s the perfect guard. Which leads me to ask you: why the girl? I thought you would have chosen your dashing lover boy.”

“The famine is getting worse. We were prepared and even after the war we’ll survive— but she won’t. I saw difficulties with her pregnancy, delivery, and the baby’s health. Karasuno doesn’t have the resources to save them.”

“So you’re using us. Freeloading on the Caelia’s healing abilities by making her one of us.” Oikawa’s accusation cut through the night. “Instead of contributing a guard, you’ve added a sick woman and child to our burden.”

Suga could fight him. Maybe not Iwaizumi, but he could make a decent dent in Oikawa’s face before the guard got to him.

Kageyama’s grasp on his arm tightened. “Trust Suga. Yui is cunning and loyal. She will be a valuable asset. And her son… her son is going to be someone great.”

“Is that your Sight talking?” The condescending tone could be felt even without seeing Oikawa’s sneer. A soft ‘thud’ and a mumbled “ow, Iwachan, what was that for” preceded another stretch of silence.

They met the sunrise at the top of the mountain. Darkness pooled in the valley behind them. Soft pink light scattered across the rocks and trees before them. To the side of the clearing: a shuddering mound of dark iridescent feathers. Adrenaline shot through Suga. Something was off, something unhealthy, inhuman, sick. He didn’t sense danger. It was something closer to watching someone die. His stomach turned as Oikawa led them closer.

“Am I addressing the Guardian Diety of Karasuno?”

“Oikawa.” Feathers parted as a small human form emerged— Nishinoya, Suga reminded himself—, the feathered form still whimpering behind him. “I was hoping—“

“You should have come for me. For someone.”

“I know, but—“

“Asahi.” Suga raced around the two, heart in his throat, his hands digging into feathers before his brain could catch up. He could feel warm skin just beneath the black coat, but couldn’t seem to uncover it.

Noya was over his shoulder in an instant. “Careful! If you break a blood feather he could bleed out.”

“They’re attached.” Suga’s hand clasped around the girth of an all-too-familiar arm, feathers preventing skin contact. He tried to pry the arm away to reveal a face, but the limb resisted. “Asahi, what happened to you.”

“He put on the mantle during his fight with Tendou. I left to get Oikawa’s help and he was like this when I returned.”

“It’s fused to him.”

Oikawa knelt beside Suga, peering into the mass of feathers as if he were afraid to touch it. “Ushijima damaged the mantle previously, Noya?”

“Yeah. He caught me by surprise with a lightning bolt, separating me from the mantle and burning it.”

Oikawa passed a hand over Asahi, still hesitant to touch the feathers. “The mantle is an ancient piece of Ada heritage. It’s as old and resilient as the Ada people. It must have seen a chance to survive in Asahi. But he’s human. He’s as mundane as it gets. The mantle tried to leech off his magic, found none, and melded to him in desperation. Without magic, it’s feeding off of his life force— all while trying to keep its host alive.”

“So it’s a parasite. How do we remove it.” Suga continued carding his fingers through the feathers. He could feel muscles relaxing to his touch. Asahi was still in there, he recognized him. Suga had to get him out.

Noya fought back the urge to pull the man away. This wasn’t the time for jealousy. Maybe later. “Can you heal the mantle? Then maybe it’ll let go.”

“It’s such an ancient item… it’ll take a specific magic. It’ll take a large amount of Ada-specific healing to fix it. If only we had a very powerful healer who just so happened to also be a powerful Ada, that would be perfect,” Oikawa coughed. All eyes turned on Kageyama.

The younger man pouted in thought. “Okay, so where do we find one of those?”

“Tobio. Do you think you could…?” Suga beckoned for the younger man to come closer. “Oikawa, is there any risk?”

“There are always risks with magic. It’s unpredictable and it isn’t every day you mend an ancient magical heirloom. I don’t know what will happen. But the alternative is that the mantle feeds off of Asahi for as long as it can keep him alive. Then they both die miserable undignified deaths.”

“I’ll try,” Kageyama nodded, keeping a brave face. The other men made room for him to kneel in front of Asahi. The feathers ruffled from the proximity, seemingly excited just to be in the presence of familiar magic. Mimicking the healing he’d practiced on soldiers, Kageyama lifted his hands to the form.

His fingertips barely grazed a feather before the back mass overtook him in a shapeless wave— as if it had been braced to pounce the moment they touched. Both Noya and Suga jumped as the man disappeared under the mass, helpless to do much more than watch and wait.

It wasn’t long before the feathers settled, assuming neat, regal alignments. Kageyama stood, mantle falling around his shoulders, looking every inch the prince he was born to be. “That wasn’t so bad.” A slight shortness of breath seemed to be his only complaint.

“Asahi— Asahi!” It was Noya’s voice that cut the moment.

The crumpled form of the man lay naked in the dust. His hair was a wild cloud around his head. Blood poured from pin pricks in his skin where the feathers dug in too hard and left too quickly. Aside from the occasional shutter for breath, he didn’t move.

Noya knelt, nudging him to roll over as the smaller man’s hands checked him over. “Oikawa, please—“

“Noya… I don’t think— he’s too far gone, it would take all of my power. I’m sorry. He’s just human, it was inevitable.”

“I’ll do it,” Suga squared his shoulders. He might not have Oikawa or Tobio’s strength, but he couldn’t just stand by. He sat across from Noya, assessing the situation as quickly as he could.

“Koushi, you’ll burn through your healing abilities.” Despite Oikawa’s warning, Suga got to work, mending the torn and exhausted muscles of Asahi’s chest. “This is more than a few broken bones. This is life force we’re talking about. As your leader, I command you to stop this.”

“I can help,” Kageyama knelt beside Suga. He placed a hand over a torn muscle only to find his healing restricted to a trickle. Frustration slapped him in the face.

“Don’t push yourself, Tobio, you just exerted yourself for the mantle. Let me—“ Suga felt his lungs tighten as he dug deeper and deeper to access his power. Oikawa had told him that his healing was acquired, second-hand, unnatural for his body. It was almost a relief to feel it leaving. The last of it felt like a weed being uprooted from his chest. He could breathe again.

As could Asahi. The rise and fall of his chest found rhythm. His pulse grew stronger under attending fingers. Eyes moved behind stubborn eyelids.

“Iwaizumi,” Oikawa toned, voice flat.

The guard nodded, moving between Asahi and his attendants. He lifted the man as if he weighed nothing. “Do we have any clothes for him? It would be undignified to return a hero broken, unconscious, and naked.”

Oikawa shrugged off his shirt, thin undershirt falling loose around his body. “I doubt a shirt around the waist is any more dignified. But if it makes you feel better.” He secured the cloth behind Asahi’s back, using the opportunity to stabilize a failing kidney when he thought no one would notice.

Noya smiled, but said nothing.

“Shouldn’t we take him with us back to the Caelia? Just until he recuperates?”

“You’ve done enough.” Oikawa refused further comment as he turned, leading Iwaizumi back through the trees.

The walk back was silent. Awkwardly silent. Most of the party was exhausted. Oikawa was furious. Luckily downhill was easier, quicker, and they arrived back to Karasuno just shortly after sundown.

The heavy atmosphere made the walk through Asahi’s orchard feel like a funeral march. They entered the cabin. Asahi was laid on his long-abandoned bed, Noya crawling up beside him. The others turned to leave.

“Sugawara,” Oikawa stopped in the doorway, “don’t bother following us.”

“What— but I thought—“

“You sacrificed your abilities, you’re of no use to us now. Not to mention, you did so against my direct orders. Your guard will be reassigned to Kageyama. Do not call on the Caelia in the future.”

“Uh… understood,” he was left standing alone in the small kitchen. Kageyama was the only one who looked back before the three disappeared into the night.

“Hey,” Nishinoya’s soft voice made him jump, the smaller man entering the room behind him. “I’m sorry about them. I’m sure he doesn’t mean it. Oikawa’s actually a big bleeding heart, he just has to uphold his reputation.”

“It’s okay. It’s fine. I didn’t want to go anyway.” Suga tried his most reassuring smile as he turned to meet Noya. Nishinoya— the guardian deity he’d upheld for so long— he was finally properly meeting him. It was exciting despite the feeling that the deity wasn’t too fond of him.

“Thank you. Thank you for saving him.”

Suga couldn’t help but smile at the blush spreading across Noya’s face. “Thank you for taking care of him. Please continue to do so.” He turned for the front door, to give them some privacy.

He made it as far as the front step before reality set in. Broad sunlight warmed the hill in front of him— the hill where he and Daichi shared their first kiss. Daichi, whose last desperate plee spoke of betrayal and heartbreak. Suga felt sick just thinking of showing up at the Sawamura household, just a day after his dramatic exit, without Yui. He didn’t even have his Sight. He was useless to them. He couldn’t imagine even the possibility of a warm welcome.

He couldn’t go back to Daichi. He was without Kageyama. He was alone. Nowhere to go. Not even a direction to start walking.

“Hey.”

Nishinoya’s sudden presence made Suga jump. The last thing he needed was a deity to witness his pity party.

“Hey! Nishinoya, sorry, I was just— I’ll be on my way.”

“Actually, I was wondering, if you’re not in a hurry to be somewhere could you stay? Just until Asahi wakes up, I swear. It’s just— I’ve never had to take care of a human before. I don’t even know what he eats.”

“Oh— of course! I’m not as good of a chef as Asahi, but I can teach you a bit of cooking if you’d like?”

It wasn’t a future that Suga could have ever predicted, even with his Sight. He spent the following days teaching The Guardian Deity of Karasuno how to harvest honey, cook meat, and bake bread.

On the second day, Asahi opened his eyes as they worked his limbs (Noya was glad he asked Suga to stay, he hadn’t even thought about the possibility of bed sores). He peered at the two without speaking, smiled, and fell back asleep.

From there on he awoke a little more every time they moved him, his mind still in a dreamy haze. Suga dared to start feeding him small bites of food, trusting him to swallow properly on his own.

After a week, in the dead of night, Noya tucked against his back and Suga nested in the corner of the floor, he spoke. A quiet voice, course and tentative, but clear in the darkness: “Noya.”

“I’m right here, big guy.”

Apparently satisfied with that, Asahi sighed and fell back into silence.

The next morning during their leg exercises, Suga felt a new resistance in the muscles. Asahi was blinking into consciousness. The hazy look in his expression faded, awareness taking shape.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Suga couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re awake-awake!” Noya was visibly holding back the bulk of his excitement. He lowered Asahi’s leg to the bed in favor of cupping his face in his hands. “Welcome back.”

Asahi laughed, sitting up with Suga’s help, back against the wall. “How long?”

“A little more than a week,” Suga answered. “You aren’t too bad off, just give yourself some time and you’ll be back to your old self. Can you eat? There’s bread in the oven, Noya made it himself.”

The hero paled, shaking his head.

“Hey! I taught him myself.”

“Yeah! And it’s kept you alive this long.”

Asahi swallowed his retort, not entirely sure Suga wouldn’t hit him in his current state, and accepted the bread. They spent the day catching him up to the world, letting him nap when he needed it. They talked about Suga’s past, the cultivation and loss of his power. His ejection from the Caelia. Noya told him about Kageyama restoring the mantle with too much excitement to stay seated.

“Aone actually turned out to be a sweet guy,” Suga reassured, Asahi flinching at the mention of his name. “Your orchard was the last spot of resistance, a refugee camp and headquarters during the fight. It only looks this nice now because Aone restored it. He wanted to find a way to make peace with you, so he rebuilt your hives and took care of the orchard. He and Hinata are to be married next month.”

“What about you and Daichi?”

“Ah,” Suga floundered. He had hoped to drown Asahi in enough information to distract from the elephant in the room. It was painfully obvious he had spent the past week with Noya at Asahi’s side. “I’m not… I’m not sure. There was a moment there— we had our moment— but then I had to leave with the Caelia and I took Yui with me. He was really mad— really very mad— so I haven’t… I just haven’t told him I’m back yet.”

“You took Yui?” Asahi questioned as Noya muttered an appalled “you haven’t told him yet?!”

“Well yeah, I was allowed to take one person with me and my Sight told me she’d die if I didn’t take her— so I took her. Kageyama took her when I was ejected, so she’s safe.But I can’t show up at this doorstep empty handed after spiriting away his wife and child.”

“Child— how long was I gone again?”

Suga laughed, giving Asahi a gentle shove, “too long, but not that long. Yui’s pregnant.”

“Suga…”

“It’s fine. I’m fine. She’s fine. The kid’s fine. Daichi will be fine.”

Asahi sighed, not enough energy to argue.

Noya stood abruptly. “I’m gonna go grab some quail for dinner.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll gather some spring onions then.” Suga, thankful for a change in conversation, followed suit. “Get some rest, Asahi. Work your legs if you can.”

The two scattered, leaving Asahi alone to wonder why Noya ran out of the front door towards town.

Suga was busy preparing a berry compote, Asahi seated in the kitchen to ensure he didn’t sneak any peppers into the mix, when Noya finally burst through the front door.

“Oh thank god. Any later and there wouldn’t be time to—“ Suga froze as Daichi, out of breath and red in the face, stepped through the door. The room fell still, only the sound of Daichi’s pants as evidence that time hadn’t stopped.

Suga hazarded a tentative smile when he was sure Daichi’s stance held no malice. “Hi… Daich--”

“You’re back,” strong arms captured him before he could react, squeezing a little harder than was necessary, “you’re really back. I thought I’d never see you again.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Suga returned the embrace the best he could, considering his arms were pinned to his sides. His voice wavered.

“They’re safe, right? Nishinoya said you delivered them to safety,” Daichi waited for a nod, tears brushing onto his shoulder, “then don’t be sorry. They’re safe. You’re home.”

“I’m home,” he assured, “I’m home.”

Noya exchanged smug smiles with Asahi.

They were going to be just fine.

-

Festivities were quickly under way. The heart of Karasuno was abuzz as Daichi threw together a proper hero’s welcome. Few people batted an eye at Suga’s swift reappearance, but none questioned it. Tanaka greeted him with a firm hug and a slap on the ass, but that was the extent of it.

Noya and Asahi dedicated their time to his rehabilitation. The great hero of Karasuno, slayer of monsters, conqueror of mountains, had to be able to walk across the stage on his own. In the week preceding, Noya (with Suga’s help) had gotten accustomed to the human abode. He’d revelled in the idea of shelter-- in walls and a ceiling protecting him from the elements. It suited Asahi; it echoed him in terms of warmth, safety, and _home_.

Through the backdoor he could see his mountain. It was odd in this perspective. No dark storm clouds loomed over the horizon, but anxiety still burned in his gut at the thought of the mountain without a guardian. Tobio had the mantle, but he couldn’t hold it forever. The Caelia needed him. Karasuno needed Noya-- not here, but back on the mountain top.

He glanced to where Asahi paced carefully around the kitchen. For a moment he allowed a daydream where he took the hero with him. They could defend Karasuno together. He flinched as Asahi’s knee locked, causing him to stumble. The daydream was dashed away. Asahi needed to be here, safe, retired and resting. It was his reward as a hero.

He didn’t want to think about their impending separation. Noya was determined to make the most of his time here. He’d spent the nights cuddled up on Asahi’s shoulder, a strong arm secure across his back. He’d learned to cook, which he thought made him pretty cool (though Asahi took over their meals as soon as he could).

They ate dinner in a comfortable silence. Noya cleared the table as the sunlight started to fade. The celebration would be tomorrow. Tomorrow he’d give Asahi back to the people of Karasuno.

“I’d like to go for a walk in the orchard before it gets too dark.” Asahi was already lacing his boots as his eyes sought Noya’s approval.

The slanted sunlight turned those eyes a dewy golden brown. Noya was a lost cause. “Yeah. We should.”

The dusk was quiet save for a few bees staying out past curfew. Asahi felt a renewed sense of relief every time he saw his orchard back in working order, the hives rebuilt. He’d have to thank Aone-- something he never thought he’d do. He would be meeting his personal boogeyman under friendly terms tomorrow. He wasn’t excited. He tried to focus on Noya walking next to him, though that came with a different plate of anxiety.

“We haven’t talked about it,” Asahi had to force himself to be audible.

Noya cringed, mind still fixated on his impending departure. “We should.”

“I meant what I said up there. Noya,” Asahi stopped, pulling Nishinoya to a halt with a hand on his shoulder. The bewildered look on the smaller man’s face made Asahi hesitate. Maybe he had misinterpreted their days and nights of closeness. Regardless, he urged his feelings forward. “Noya, I love you.”

Noya couldn’t say he was blindsided, but this would make announcing his plans that much harder. “I-- Asahi--”

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same. I’m… I’m just human. My lifetime is just a blink of the eye to you. I’m not so arrogant to think that a god would--”

“Don’t be stupid, I love you too,” small fingers found the collar of Asahi’s shirt, forcing him down. Asahi braced himself on Noya’s hips, head spinning and knees weak, afraid of losing his balance. Nishinoya was kissing him.

To be honest, he wasn’t the best kisser, but Noya made up for his lack of experience with his persistence and passion. Sloppy lips captured Asahi’s own, strong grip pulling him closer. There was no doubt that he was kissing Noya-- _Noya was kissing him_.

The sun set on laughter, on happiness, on unparalleled joy. They returned to the cabin and spent hours trying to sleep, constantly interrupted by their own giddiness.

The sun rose with Sugawara in the doorway, ready to take them into town. He gave Noya a coy smile and Asahi a punch to the shoulder, but made no comment on their haggard state. They climbed aboard a cart pulled by a single horse. Asahi attempted to cover his head with his traveling scarf, but Suga whipped it away.

“The people want to see you! That’s the whole point.”

“Suga, I really don’t…”

“Just for today, then you can go back to your cabin of isolation and make like bunnies.”

Asahi shut his mouth, ears burning red. Noya didn’t quite get the reference, but he was excited to meet the people he had spent generations protecting (read: he was excited to be praised). He wasn’t disappointed as people stopped in their tracks to greet the cart.

“Asahi! Welcome home!”

“Thank you Asahi!”

The crowds grew thicker as they approached the center of town. In retrospect, Noya shouldn’t have expected anyone to recognize him. He tried not to take their ignorance to heart. If they’d seen The Guardian Deity of Karasuno in action, they’d swoon for sure.

Daichi welcomed them with open arms, by far the happiest Noya had ever seen the man. Behind him stood Hinata, so eager to welcome them that he dove past Daichi to embrace Noya.

“Asahi, you’re back! You made it back! I heard to slaughtered a cockatrice-- that’s so cool!” Hinata was on Asahi as soon as Daichi gave him space. Asahi couldn’t get a word in to correct the story as Hinata spun a taller and taller tale.

A few others swarmed to greet Asahi, taking time to introduce themselves to Noya, though the young god’s attention was focused on the only person in the room _not_ bursting with joy at their presence.

He recognized Aone, though the man looked different this close. He looked timid, scared. He looked young. Nothing like the brute that nearly killed Asahi all those years ago. Noya approached cautiously.

“Aone.”

The man jumped, as if looking for a place to hide. “Hinata told me about you.”

“And he always tells the best stories,” Noya grinned, trying to put him at ease.

Aone’s mind was sinking back into battle, fight-or-flight, as he came face-to-face with the guardian deity of his old enemy. To make things worse, it seemed the deity was attached to a man he almost killed. He never intended to anger a god. He tried to back away from the approaching party, but found himself against a wall.

“Thank you for restoring Asahi’s orchard. It was nice to come home to one less thing to worry about.”

Aone nodded, still unable to make eye contact.

“Aone,” Noya placed a firm hand on the man’s arm, causing him to jump, “you don’t have to be afraid of me. Karasuno and Dateko are one people now. You’re under my protection.”

He felt Asahi approach from behind. The two heros shook hands without a word, malice and nerves dissolving in their silent understanding.

Introductions and peace made, Daichi ushered them back outside onto a small temporary stage. Noya didn’t pay much attention to the announcements being made. He watched the crowd rejoice for Asahi, assuring himself that his hero would be well loved and cared for.

Daichi approached and placed a hand on his shoulder, turning back to the crowd. “And it is my great honor to introduce to you our guardian deity: Nishinoya Yuu. He has protected our valley for generations. We are eternally grateful for your blessing, Nishinoya.”

The crowd eyed Noya suspiciously before losing its mind. He looked out at the faces of his people-- _his_ people. The Ada had abandoned him on that mountain. Karasuno welcomed him with open arms and endless gratitude. He had to keep them safe.

Asahi linked arms with him as they entered the crowd to join the festivities. The bigger man was obviously nervous under all of the attention. The bustling of the crowd made it easy for Noya to separate himself.

He slipped through the house, escaping into the back garden, finally finding quiet. Nishinoya took a deep breath.

“Where do you think you’re going,” Suga exited the building after him, closing the door tight.

“I have to keep Karasuno safe.”

“You’re going to break his heart.”

“Like you can talk.”

Suga couldn’t help but laugh. “For the sake of Karasuno.”

“For the sake of Karasuno,” Noya agreed with a sad smile, “I’ll be back. I don’t know when, but I’ll find a way. I… I’ll find the other Ada. I’ll find them and bring them back. I’ll make them free me of my duty. And then I’ll come back.”

“Asahi will chase you-- to the ends of the world he’ll follow you.”

The Guardian Deity of Karasuno grinned. “Then I better get a head start.”

Sugawara was the only one to see the crow take flight, wind carrying it higher until it was gone. Even without his fae-given power, the Seer of Karasuno knew they were going to be just fine.

-

  
_Great joy was made that day of young and old,_  
 _And solemn feast proclaimed throughout the land,_  
 _That their exceeding merth may not be told:_  
 _Suffice it hear by signs to understand_  
 _The usual ioys at knitting of loves band._  
 _This happy man the knight himself did hold,_  
 _Possessed of his Ladies heart and hand,_  
 _And ever, when his eye did her behold,_  
 _His heart did seem to melt in pleasures manifold._

_Her joyous presence and sweet company  
_ _In full content he there did long enjoy,_   
_No wicked restlessness, no vile jealousy_   
_His dear delights were able to annoy:_   
_Yet swimming in that sea of blissful joy,_   
_He nought forgot, how he had sworn,_   
_In case he could that monstrous beast destroy,_   
_Unto his Faerie Queene back to return:_   
_The which he shortly did, and Una left to mourn._

_Now strike your sails ye jolly Mariners,  
_ _For we come unto a quiet ride,_  
_Where we must land some of our passengers,_  
 _And light this weary vessel of her lode._  
 _Here she a while may make her safe abode,_  
 _Till she repaired have her tackles spent,_  
 _And wants supplied. And then again abroad_  
 _On the long voyage whereto she is bent:_  
 _Well may she speed and fairly finish her intent._

Edmund Spenser’s _The Faerie Queene_ , Book 1 Canto 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for joining me on this journey. This story has been close to my heart. Writing this has gotten me through a lot-- this chapter especially. I hit writers block and decided to drive up the mountain it's based on for inspiration. On the way up, we hit a mule deer. Walking with Suga up the mountain, blind and frightened but safe, helped me get through the resulting trauma.
> 
> There are parts I want to go back and revise (the bulk of chapter 4) as this was my first time writing any sort of fighting or war, but I'm happy with the overall story. It's birthed a number of plot bunnies that I plan on chasing. There are whole sections of Aone/Hinata that I took out and put in a separate doc. This story was based on Book I of The Faerie Queene and I'd like to look into writing some of the other books (ft: Teru as King Arthur if no one caught that reference). I also have a Karasuno origin story based on Grimm's Lady and the Lion in mind.
> 
> Basically, Asahi and Noya's story is concluded, but the journey isn't over. Thank you so much!


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